The Chinese capital enjoyed a relatively peaceful and stable period in the first three months of 2004, with the number of criminal cases falling 10 percent compared with the same period last year.

The number of minor cases dropped almost 25 percent between January and March year-on-year, said Chen Qiang, deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Division at the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, at a press conference on Thursday.

However, he noted that car theft is on the rise, with most of the cases involving organized rings.

The police solved 170 auto theft cases in the first three months and recovered 234 stolen vehicles, said Chen.

Five suspects were detained last month in a case involving a well-established gang of car thieves. They have confessed that they committed 21 such crimes since 2001 in the city's Haidian and Chaoyang districts.

The stolen cars, including several Passat and Santana sedans, are worth nearly 3 million yuan (US$360,000), said Chen.

A larger gang of car thieves is under investigation in Chongwen District. Chen said his bureau would launch a special campaign against such groups in the next few months.

"Car owners should install antitheft devices on their cars and park them at places with guards, "said Chen.

Another serious case resolved in the past couple of months involves a gang with more than 50 members that committed at least 72 larcenies in Beijing since last July.

The gang members, most of whom are from Henan Province, stole more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000) worth of goods, mostly from construction companies located on the outskirts of town.

In another major case, a gang headed by Bi Hongbo bullied residents and embezzled from business people in the Chaoyang District for years. The police have evidence that the group committed at least seven cases of blackmail and embezzlement in the amount of 27,000 yuan (US$3,300). Most of the gang members are laid-off workers from northeast China, said Chen.

In related news, three criminals who carjacked five Mercedes-Benzes, one Audi and two Santanas worth 6 million yuan (US$725,000) were sentenced to death by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court Thursday. The presiding judge was Gao Jie.

Six drivers were murdered by 41-year-old Li Xiaoping, 40-year-old Wang Qinghai and 33-year-old Cheng Long during the incidents.

In July 2001, the three men stole a Mercedes at a parking lot in Beijing's Chaoyang District, killing the driver. The car was sold in Daqing, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Li and his accomplices went on to steal the other cars between July 2001 and April 2003.

Wang and Cheng were arrested in June last year in Shuangliao, in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

(China Daily April 9, 2004)