Within just half an hour, news of the vicious armed robbery and murder committed in broad daylight had reached the top leaders of the provincial Party committee and government.
Why so quickly?
Because the suspect, Sun Zhe, had traveled across three provinces and committed four murders, starting with the major case involving the killing of a police officer and theft of his gun in Dongquan County, Jiangnan Province, last March, through to the May 24 armed robbery and murder in Liaoyang, Liaodong Province, this year. His crimes had drawn close attention from the Ministry of Public Security and even alarmed the minister himself.
Both the former provincial Party secretary, Lü Qiang, and the current secretary, Jian Wanyan, had ordered the Provincial Public Security Department and the Liaoyang Municipal Public Security Bureau to make it their highest-priority case. Any major developments had to be reported immediately.
And now there had been a "major development," but it had come at the cost of yet another bloody murder.
So it was not just Municipal Public Security Bureau Director Ji Minsheng who felt disgraced. Even Deng Yadong, secretary of the provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission and director of the Provincial Public Security Department, felt ashamed as he reported to the provincial Party secretary.
"After the incident, patrol officers nearby reached the scene immediately and reported the case to the task force. Comrades Lin Hua and Ji Minsheng swiftly mobilized officers to begin the pursuit."
"The suspect is highly skilled at evading investigation, and this time he had an accomplice covering him. The detectives pursuing them found an abandoned motorcycle and discarded clothing in an alley. Based on our analysis, the suspects most likely split up to confuse the pursuit and evade capture..."
Jian Shuyan seemed to listen patiently to Deng Yadong's report, but