The November 11 Nanchang bank robbery case, in which three people were killed, has aroused the attention of the whole nation, and China's Ministry of Public Security has ordered it be resolved as soon as possible.
The ministry has earmarked a hefty 1 million yuan (US$120,000) to Nanchang Bureau of Public Security, which said it would try to ferret out the culprits within three to five days.
A source from the bureau told reporters on Thursday that the robbery was careful plotted, possibly involving four suspects possessing at least three small-calibre rifles.
The robbers stormed into the Hongcheng Market outlet of China's Agriculture Bank's Nanchang Branch in the waning hours on November 11, killed two bank customers depositing money, snatched 500,000 yuan (US$60,000) and fled in a seized cab, whose driver they slaughtered earlier.
The case is considered the most outrageous and grisly the eastern Chinese city has ever witnessed, said the bureau.
Families of one victim, Tu Shuhua, has obtained 60,000 yuan compensation from the Kangling Life Insurance in which Tu bought two policies. And, the Agriculture Bank's Nanchang Branch has launched a donation among its employees in order to aid the other two victims, local reports said.
According to Chinese law, the bank and its Hongcheng Market outlet has no liability to compensate the victims.
Though a week has passed since the gruesome robbery happened, the bank outlet remains closed, a notice on the door telling customers to proceed their demands at the city branch.
(chinadaily.com.cn 11/17/2000)
