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China's crime rate up
in 1st quarter
China reported 923,000 criminal cases in the first
quarter, an increase of 14.2 percent over the same
period last year.
The figures, released Wednesday by the Ministry of
Public Security (MPS), revealed a 23.4 percent drop in
bombing crimes in the period, while arsons and rapes
fell by 6.6 percent and 7.9 percent respectively.
Murder cases basically remained the same as last year,
according to the statistics.
During the period, China saw 639,000 theft cases, up
17.1 percent year-on-year, and robberies also rose by
8.6 percent to 74,000.
Meanwhile, police cracked 285,000 criminal cases from
January to March, 1.6 percent higher than the previous
year, and dealt with 979,000 minor infringements,
which were down by 11.3 percent.
The MPS said that it has launched a special move to
investigatehomicide cases across the country since
February this year in a bid to crack down on major
violent crimes, including cases of murdering, bombing,
poisoning, arson, abducting, robbery and
rape-murdering.
A number of such cases have been cracked and a group
of suspects have been captured after the campaign was
started, the MPS said, citing college student slayer
Ma Jiajue as an example.
Ma, 24, from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was
accused of killing four fellow students in the Yunnan
University from Feb.13 to 15, 2004.
Bodies of the four victims were found in a dormitory
in the university on Feb. 23, all with deadly injuries
consistent with a blunt metal object.
Ma was later listed as chief suspect by the MPS, which
offered a 200,000 yuan (24,300 US dollars) reward to
people providing information or clues leading to his
apprehension.
He was captured on March 15 in southern China's island
provinceof Hainan and was sent back to Yunnan two days
later.
Ma was given a death sentence for the crime of murder
at the first trial of the Kunming Intermediate
People's Court, held on April 24 in southwest China's
Yunnan Province.
Ma was also deprived of his political rights for life
for killing four fellow college students.
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