13,000 China police officers in manhunt for killer

BEIJING: Almost 13,000 police officers in China are hunting for a man suspected of a series of robberies and shootings. The hunt in Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province centers on Zeng Kaigui. Chinese state media say Zeng is suspected to have killed a man who withdrew money from a bank and robbed him of 200,000 yuan ($31,700) cash on Friday. The reports say 13,000 officers have been mobilized in the search. Teams of police are walking through buses with a photo of Zeng, as well as checking train stations, bus stops and ports, and searching Internet cafes and hotels. The 42-year-old Zeng is suspected of killing at least six people. Calls to Nanjing police rang unanswered on Tuesday. Adnan al-Khudeir, head of the Cairo operations room that the monitors report to, said more observers will head to Syria in the coming days and the delegation should reach 200. He said the mission then will expand its work in Syria to reach the eastern province of Deir el-Zour and predominantly Kurdish areas to the northeast.

China Daily Report..

China launches massive manhunt for cruel policeman-turned serial killer

 Chinese police have launched a massive manhunt for a former colleague-turned-suspected serial killer and armed bank robber who has been on run for more than eight years. 13,000 officers and two force helicopters have been deployed in the blanket search for Zeng Kaigui, a former People's Liberation Army policeman, after he shot dead his latest victim in a £20,500 bank heist in the eastern city of Nanjing over the weekend.
Zeng is also suspected of killing six people and injuring two others during separate armed robberies in major cities in the south west of the country since 2004, stealing an estimated £50,000. Details of the latest victim alleged to have been killed by Zeng have not been released. Many of the thousands of police searching for the 42-year-old are armed. They are scouring the Yangtze River port-city's major transport systems, hotels and internet cafés – especially those frequented by millions of migrant workers. Road blocks on major routes have been set up and police in full armoured SWAT gear have been pictured searching buses, metros and trains clutching handguns and mug shots of Zeng in their desperate search to catch the serial killer. All male passengers are now required to show their ID cards before boarding long-distance public transports as police attempt to close the net on Zeng, who has been on run since at least before 2004. The outlaw is also linked to another fatal shooting in 1995, investigating officers said. Security at all banks and "financial service centres" has also been stepped up during the lockdown, and Nanjing - a city of five million - has been described by residents as "tense". "It's shocking and it's scary to imagine that the deadly shooting was conducted during the day and the suspect is still at large - despite such a large number of police on his trail," Deng Chuanhua, a 56-year-old Nanjing native, said. Leading investigation officers told China's state media Zeng is "skilled at avoiding surveillance". He served in the armed police force of the PLA in Yunnan Province between 1989 and 1994, during which time he became a "skilled marksman". Wanted posters have been widely circulated detailing Zeng's appearance and offering a bounty of £10,000. Video surveillance footage of the bank heist and other public areas where Zeng was seen is also being screened to the public to help track him down. But with overtones of an unfolding Frederick Forsyth thriller, detectives warned he was a master of disguise who communicates in public only using grunts and body language. "The suspect is a skilled shooter [marksman] and can disguise himself to avoid detection," Chinese state media quoted an unnamed Nanjing police officer as saying. "He practices thrift and does not like communicating with others. He uses gestures and use body language when buying food [in restaurants] rather than uttering words. He prefers wearing a peaked cap, sunglasses and gloves," said the police description of Zeng. Late Monday, desperate police added an extra £5000 to the reward for his capture and officers said they have received 300 calls offering clues as to his whereabouts. A mobile phone message attached with a photo of the suspect was also sent every resident in Nanjing. "It warned of the potential risks and asked the public for clues to hunt down the man," Liu Canhui, a doctor in Nanjing, told state media. "But I'm not afraid. The whole city is after the guy," Dr Liu said. Officers have warned the public to be careful during the up-coming Chinese New Year holiday, a period when many carry larger amounts of cash to buy presents and traditionally settle debts at the ends lunar. Gun crime is rare in China where public gun-ownership is banned.