Suspect in manhunt charged with murder, robbery

A man suspected of killing three people in Jiangxi province was charged by local prosecutors in court on Friday with intentional homicide, robbery and larceny.

The prosecution against Zeng Chunliang was made by the province’s Yichun people’s procuratorate, and the case is still in process.

Zeng, 44, a native of Jiangxi’s Le’an county, was suspected of killing an elderly couple and seriously injuring a child on Aug 8, and then escaping from the scene. Five days later, he was also suspected of killing a local poverty relief official.

After a manhunt lasting more than a week in the countryside, including mountainous areas, Zeng was captured by Le’an police in Hangqiao village at around 4:30 pm on Aug 16.

The search for Zeng involved 4,000 local and nearby public security officers, the armed police and the militia, with many checkpoints established on roads and drones deployed.

During the pursuit, the county’s public security bureau raised the reward for information leading to his arrest from 50,000 yuan ($7,200) on Aug 8 to 300,000 yuan on Aug 13.

An auxiliary police officer was also hit by a truck and killed while examining vehicles on a provinciallevel expressway when pursuing the suspect.

According to ThePaper.cn, a Shanghai-based online news outlet, Zeng was convicted of burglary in 2002 and 2013, and was released from prison in May.

The daughter of the first deceased elderly couple said on her micro blog that the injured child was her 7-yearold nephew, adding he had suffered severe brain injuries and was given medical treatment in an intensive care unit.

In her online post, she said Zeng had broken into her parents’ house on July 22 and injured her brother, and her family called police immediately after Zeng left. They reported to police again on July 24 after finding some clothing and tools left by the suspect under a bed.