China’s tough measures to curb spread of coronavirus force criminal suspects out of hiding
- Harsh restrictions and extensive road checks across the country make it too hard for some to get past police
- Man wanted for murder who had evaded authorities for more than a decade is among those who have turned themselves in
An official WeChat account run by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the ruling Communist Party’s top law enforcement body, on Monday reported the case of a murder suspect who surrendered to police in the central Shanxi province after it became too hard to get around extensive road checks.
The suspect, identified by local media as Ge Jianhua, gave himself up to authorities in the city of Linfen on January 31. Police had stepped up checks at coal mines, construction sites and hotels across the province as the new virus strain, which originated in the Hubei capital Wuhan in December, spread rapidly across the country.
Ge is accused of stabbing one person to death and injuring another in October 2009 in Henan province, but he had evaded police for more than a decade. He has since been transferred from Linfen to police custody in Pingdingshan, in Henan.
China has imposed tight travel restrictions across the country to contain the outbreak, in sometimes draconian measures that have seen people confined to their homes, frequent temperature checks and increased surveillance of individuals’ movements.
Other criminal suspects in China ensnared by the unprecedented measures to curb the outbreak include a man surnamed Fan, who is suspected of running online scams that defrauded victims of 40 million yuan (US$5.7 million) in his native Henan province.
Surveillance footage showed the 38-year-old had fled by bike from Red Bean Gorge in Shanxi to Linfen but was unable to find a place to live, so he turned himself in to police on February 7, The Beijing News reported. Fan has since been transferred to the custody of Henan police.
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And in Chongqing municipality, in the southwest, a man suspected of drug trafficking also turned himself in on February 7.
He said he had been unable to get around the increased police presence, according to Pear Video. The man was handed over to police in the city of Xichang in Sichuan province.
