The man who committed a robbery in eastern Beijing's Liangmahe Mansion was caught on Monday afternoon and confessed to the crime, according to the police.
The 25-year-old suspect, called Zhou Jibin, from southwest China's Sichuan Province, said that on Monday afternoon, he followed an accountant, who was carrying a suitcase of cash to make a bank deposit, into a elevator at the mansion.
When the lift started to move upward, Zhou suddenly pulled out a pistol, put the accountant in choke-hold and snatched the case.
Once the lift stopped at a floor, Zhou pushed the accountant as well as a security guard accompanying the accountant out of the lift. A woman who was in the lift was also thrown out.
When local police arrived, responding to an alarm, they quickly surrounded the mansion and sealed off all outlets except one, which all those who exited were carefully examined.
Around 4 p.m., Zhou came out of the gate, and was identified by the victims and taken into custody. At the police station, Zhou confessed to what had done.
Dreaming of living an extravagant life, Zhou came to Beijing looking to make a fortune.
He said that he thought robbery would be the quickest way to become rich. After a period of observation, he decided to rob a person going to the Bank of China located in the mansion, with the fake pistol and dagger bought with 4 yuan outside Beijing.
A spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said here today that the suitcase was found in a toilet in the mansion and all the cash and checks remained intact.
(Xinhua 11/14/2000)
