Suspected robbery gang boss escapes

The alleged mastermind of the gang that killed eight and injured four in a botched bank robbery in Changde, Hunan province, managed to escape to Guangzhou despite a massive manhunt by police, mainland media reported.

Zhang Jun, 34, who was also the alleged mastermind behind eight large robberies in Shanghai, Chongqing, Changsha, Wuhan and Changde, fled to Guangzhou on a flight on Tuesday, according to the Shanghai-based eastday.com, one of the nine flagship news Web sites endorsed by the authorities.

Another key suspect, Chen Shiqing, is still at large. So far two suspects who allegedly took part in the brutal robbery attempt on September 1 have been arrested by police. About 10 other people implicated in the crime have also been arrested.

Major newspapers on the mainland yesterday carried sensational reports on the nine gang members, who alarmed the state with the cold-blooded killings they carried out while trying to intercept a cash transfer between an armoured car and a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China. Eight people were killed and four injured when the robbers sprayed bullets at security guards, bank staff, taxi drivers and passers-by.

Earlier reports said the gang left empty-handed after the key to the cash compartment of the armoured car broke when they tried to open it. But eastday

.com yesterday quoted Changde police as saying a bank teller deliberately broke the key before it was grabbed by the assailants.