Police in Guangdong and Hebei provinces caught 10 men suspected of stealing a combined 780,000 yuan (US$96,468) in two separate armed robberies.

The more recent robbery occurred on October 21 in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, police announced yesterday.

Shortly after noon, a businessman identified as Jiang withdrew 330,000 yuan from a Baiyun District bank, accompanied by a friend. They were getting into Jiang's car when four men attacked them.

One man shot Jiang's right leg with a hunting rifle, and two others smashed his back with iron hammers. Then the four took Jiang's bag of money and fled.

There were three accessories, police said.

The seven shared the stolen money and bought luxury goods or went to upscale nightclubs.

In the Hebei case, three men held up company workers at gunpoint on a highway in Yixian County on October 17 and stole 450,000 yuan they had withdrawn from a bank.

The workers were driving back to the Benzhai Township Cotton Co when three men stopped their minivan, shot the windshield, then took the money and their cell phones.

(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2005)