A 25-year-old man who hijacked a woman, 24, with a knife yesterday afternoon in south China's Yunnan Province has been arrested, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

Police in Kunming, the provincial capital, said they received the report at 5:35pm yesterday that a woman was hijacked at knifepoint in the Shilongba Hydroelectric Plant.

The police arrived soon and saw the victim was lying on the ground as the hijacker, Yu Chengmin, rode on top of her holding a knife.

Seeing the police, Yu grew agitated and threatened to kill the woman and commit suicide if officers try to get close. As a result, the police could only talk to him at a distance.

After more than 10 minutes, Yu agreed to let one officer get a little closer. The policeman inched his way toward the hijacker while distracting his attention by talking about his family.

About 30 minutes later, the officer got a chance and subdued Yu. The hostage was saved and sent to hospital.

Yu allegedly confessed that he was dating the victim, surnamed Huo, an employee of the power plant. He had a quarrel with Huo in her office yesterday, drawing blames from her colleagues. In a rage, Yu hijacked Huo using a fruit knife he carried.