Overview:
A Chinese national serving a prison sentence in Palau is in critical condition after an attack inside the jail. Police have identified another inmate serving a 45-year sentence as a suspect.
By: L.N. Reklai
KOROR, Palau (Nov. 9, 2026) – A 56-year-old Chinese national serving a prison sentence in Palau is in critical condition after being attacked inside the Palau jail on Nov. 5, according to a police report.
The inmate, identified as YangYong Liu, was found lying on the floor of his cell with a bleeding head. Emergency medical personnel transported him to Belau National Hospital, where he was reported to be in critical condition.
Police have identified 33-year-old Ngirachelbaed Oiterong as a suspect in the attack. According to police, other inmates housed in the same cellblock identified Oiterong as the alleged attacker.
Oiterong is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence following his 2013 conviction in a second-degree murder and attempted murder case.
Authorities have placed Oiterong in isolation, separating him from the general prison population.
Police also reported recovering a suspected weapon used in the attack, but have not released details about the weapon. The incident remains under investigation.
Liu was serving a four-year portion of a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of more than one gram of a controlled substance, identified as methamphetamine.
Under his sentence, Liu was ordered to serve four years and pay a $20,000 fine. If he pays the fine in full, he will serve only the four-year portion of his sentence and then be deported to his home country. If he fails to pay the fine, he faces serving the full 25-year sentence.
The circumstances surrounding the attack have raised questions about inmate safety and security inside the jail.
Among the unanswered questions are whether Liu and Oiterong were housed in the same cell, how the suspected weapon was accessed or brought into the facility, and what monitoring and security measures are in place to protect inmates from attacks by other prisoners.
Authorities have not yet provided further details on these matters as the investigation continues.