A nationwide campaign against bicycle theft has helped crack 236,000 bicycle theft cases in four months, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

 

"More than 393,000 stolen bicycles were recovered by police from March to June 15, and about 195,000 were returned to their owners," said Liu Jinguo, vice minister of public security, at a national teleconference on Friday.

 

Liu said the police busted 4,942 criminal gangs involving bicycle theft and brought 84,000 suspects to judicial bodies. More than 100,000 bicycle attendants were added to oversee bicycle safety across the country.

 

Known as the "bicycle kingdom", China is home to a 470 million bicycles. Nearly 4 million bikes, including 700,000 electric bikes, are stolen every year in China, costing bike owners a collective property loss of 2 billion yuan (US$250 million).

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2007)