Police captured a convict on Wednesday, eight days after he escaped from prison.

Zhang Lincang, who fled from No 1 Prison in Yunnan province on May 2, was shot and wounded by police on Wednesday morning in Kunming's Songming county.

Information on his whereabouts was given to the police by members of the public.

Less than 12 hours after his escape, Yunnan authorities issued a Type-A Wanted alert - the most urgent type of public service announcement the police can make - and offered a reward of 100,000 yuan ($14,500) for information leading to Zhang's capture.

According to the provincial Department of Justice, Zhang left the site where inmates were working at around 8:20 am on May 2. He stole a truck, broke through the prison fence and fled. The truck was abandoned on a road 2 kilometers from the prison.

Zhang has been serving a life sentence for drug trafficking since January.

According to media reports, Zhang served in the military, worked as a long-distance driver and ran a karaoke club. He has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, the reports said.