The suspected killer of four university students in southwest
China was captured Monday night in the island province of Hainan,
local police announced. Police have been searching for the Yunnan
University student since February 23.
Ma Jiajue, suspected of bludgeoning four fellow Yunnan
University students to death, was seized in the Hexi District of
Sanya City, Hainan
Province, at about 7:30 pm Monday. He is currently being
interrogated by local police, said a spokesman for the Sanya City
Bureau of Public Security. No description of Ma's capture was
provided.
Ma, 23, was listed as the chief suspect by the Ministry of
Public Security in the killings of four students at a university
residence hall in southwest China's Yunnan
Province on February 23.
He was born in Binyang County, Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, and was a student of biochemistry at
Yunnan University.
On March 1, the Ministry of Public Security issued an urgent
appeal for information leading to Ma's arrest, offering a 200,000
yuan (US$24,300) reward.
The victims were found dead in the Yunnan University dormitory
on February 23. All the bodies appeared to have been beaten with a
blunt metal object.
Ma told police he killed them to seek revenge after having
quarrels with them.
He told police that he had maintained fairly good relations with
the four slain students, but he decided to gain revenge after he
had quarrels with three of them. He killed one a day for four
consecutive days.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2004)