The Chinese capital enjoyed a relatively peaceful and stable
period in the first three months of 2004, with the number of
criminal cases falling 10 percent compared with the same period
last year.
The number of minor cases dropped almost 25 percent between
January and March year-on-year, said Chen Qiang, deputy head of the
Criminal Investigation Division at the Beijing Municipal Public
Security Bureau, at a press conference on Thursday.
However, he noted that car theft is on the rise, with most of
the cases involving organized rings.
The police solved 170 auto theft cases in the first three months
and recovered 234 stolen vehicles, said Chen.
Five suspects were detained last month in a case involving a
well-established gang of car thieves. They have confessed that they
committed 21 such crimes since 2001 in the city's Haidian and
Chaoyang districts.
The stolen cars, including several Passat and Santana sedans,
are worth nearly 3 million yuan (US$360,000), said Chen.
A larger gang of car thieves is under investigation in Chongwen
District. Chen said his bureau would launch a special campaign
against such groups in the next few months.
"Car owners should install antitheft devices on their cars and
park them at places with guards, "said Chen.
Another serious case resolved in the past couple of months
involves a gang with more than 50 members that committed at least
72 larcenies in Beijing since last July.
The gang members, most of whom are from Henan
Province, stole more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000) worth of
goods, mostly from construction companies located on the outskirts
of town.
In another major case, a gang headed by Bi Hongbo bullied
residents and embezzled from business people in the Chaoyang
District for years. The police have evidence that the group
committed at least seven cases of blackmail and embezzlement in the
amount of 27,000 yuan (US$3,300). Most of the gang members are
laid-off workers from northeast China, said Chen.
In related news, three criminals who carjacked five
Mercedes-Benzes, one Audi and two Santanas worth 6 million yuan
(US$725,000) were sentenced to death by the Beijing No. 2
Intermediate People's Court Thursday. The presiding judge was Gao
Jie.
Six drivers were murdered by 41-year-old Li Xiaoping,
40-year-old Wang Qinghai and 33-year-old Cheng Long during the
incidents.
In July 2001, the three men stole a Mercedes at a parking lot in
Beijing's Chaoyang District, killing the driver. The car was sold
in Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province.
Li and his accomplices went on to steal the other cars between
July 2001 and April 2003.
Wang and Cheng were arrested in June last year in Shuangliao, in
northeast China's Liaoning
Province.
(China Daily April 9, 2004)