A former Beijing convict has been arrested and accused of murdering at least 13 people in a bloody cross-country crime spree.
The accused killer, identified as Bai Baoshan, faced the death penalty after confessing to a string of shootings and robberies, the Ministry of Public Security said.
Lurid accounts of the alleged mass murderer's arrest were published yesterday in the mainland press as authorities prepared to launch the annual 'Winter Action' crime crackdown.
Police said Bai confessed under interrogation to leading a 17-month crime spree with a fellow ex-convict that netted the pair a small cache of stolen PLA firearms and 1.5 million yuan (HK$1.39 million) in a series of robberies in Beijing, Hebei and Xinjiang.
Authorities charged Bai with killing 13 victims and injuring 15 others, including several bystanders hit by gunfire during a robbery at a Urumqi hotel in August.
Police said Bai also shot his former partner dead in a secluded lakeside spot in Xinjiang.
