Murder suspects arrested

Twenty-two suspects sought in connection with a number of deaths after a spate of car thefts in Guangdong were caught after police received a tip-off that the gang was celebrating in a hotel karaoke bar.

The China News Service reported yesterday that those arrested included Zhang Guorong, Hu Min and Chen Guangjun, all wanted by police.

Officers also found a military-issue revolver, ammunition and a dagger.

The news service said all the suspects came from Hunan province.

The gang is believed to be responsible for 13 car thefts in the Huidong and Huiyang areas and the deaths of several victims.

Meanwhile, three bank robbers who shot dead a counter assistant and fled with 75,200 yuan (HK$70,000) on January 6 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, have been arrested, the news service reported.

Counter assistant Xu Pingxing of the Agriculture Bank's Qingbaijiang branch was shot dead by the robbers as he was carrying a cash box to a security van.

The robbers snatched the box and fled in a getaway car but a witness noted its licence plate number.