Printing Worker Murdered by Hitmen Hired by Manager and Boss; Suspect Caught After 20 Years on the Run

"The net of Heaven is wide and its mesh is coarse, yet nothing slips through." On August 23, after years of continuous effort, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City successfully apprehended Luan Mouwei, a fugitive in a homicide case who had been on the run for 20 years. With that, this 20-year-old unsolved homicide case, which occurred in the Yakou jurisdiction of Wugang City, was brought to a successful conclusion. The solving of the case demonstrates social fairness and justice, upholds the authority of the law, and brings great comfort to the family of the victim.

This morning, in the compound of Samsung Heavy Industries in Ningbo, Zhejiang, thousands of employees shouted slogans such as "Samsung is my home, I want to work, I need to support my family," protesting the investor's withdrawal of capital.

△The arrest team for the "July 25, 2002" homicide case returning in triumph from Jilin (2021)

Escalating conflict leads to a deadly attack; a hired killing

The story goes back to the night of July 25, 2002, when a homicide occurred in the Yakou jurisdiction of Wugang City. Liu Moumiao, 43, was killed inside an office building of a printing factory in Yakou. The scene was covered in blood; the victim Liu Moumiao died after being struck repeatedly on the head with a blunt instrument. After the attack, the suspect attempted to bury the body, but when conditions did not allow, the suspect faked a scene of rape and murder. The method was brutal, the nature of the crime egregious, and the social impact extremely poor.

After the case occurred, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City immediately activated its homicide investigation mechanism and carried out comprehensive work including crime scene examination, visits and interviews, and the pursuit and arrest of suspects. Through investigation of the victim's personal and social relationships, the investigating officers determined that this was a premeditated murder-for-hire. After extensive visits and investigative work, they identified Wang Mouhuan, Liu Mouguo, Liu Mouchao, Tang Moucheng, Kou Mouxiang, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei as having significant suspicion of committing the crime. On August 6, 2002, by following leads and taking decisive action, the investigating officers apprehended the suspects Wang Mouhuan, Liu Mouguo, Liu Mouchao, Tang Moucheng and Kou Mouxiang one after another.

△Distant view of a printing factory at the crime scene (2002)

△Office building of a printing factory at the crime scene (2002)

Through interrogation, it was learned that the victim Liu Moumiao had been an employee of a printing factory in Wugang City. In 1997, after the factory was restructured into a printing joint-stock limited liability company in Wugang City, Liu Moumiao signed an agreement with the company to terminate the labor relationship. Later, due to various issues, Liu Moumiao repeatedly came into conflict with Liu Mouchao, who was then the company manager. Because Liu Moumiao frequently went to the factory to "raise the matter," which affected production and involved compensation issues, Liu Mouguo and Wang Mouhuan, who were then shareholders of the printing joint-stock limited liability company, conspired with manager Liu Mouchao to find someone to deal with Liu Moumiao. As Liu Moumiao and Liu Mouchao had clashed many times and their grievances had run deep, Liu Mouchao bore a grudge and decided to take drastic action.

In May 2002, Liu Mouchao approached Tang Moucheng, a legal advisor hired by the company, asking for help in finding someone to deal with Liu Moumiao. Tang Moucheng then found Kou Mouxiang and introduced him to Liu Mouchao. After Liu Mouchao told Kou Mouxiang of the intention to kill Liu Moumiao, Kou Mouxiang found two killers, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei. After conducting advance reconnaissance and conspiring several times, they determined the location of Liu Moumiao's residence.

On the afternoon of July 25, 2002, Kou Mouxiang, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei arrived by car near the printing joint-stock limited liability company in Wugang City. Afterwards, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei secretly slipped into the company's office building and waited in ambush. At about 10 p.m. that night, as Liu Moumiao returned from outside, the two caught the victim off guard and killed Liu Moumiao with a sledgehammer. They had intended to dig a pit and bury Liu Moumiao, but conditions did not allow it, so the plan was not carried out. To conceal their deed, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei carried Liu Moumiao into the room and then fled the scene, leaving by car with Kou Mouxiang, who was waiting outside.

△The crime scene (2002)

After the case occurred, the Wugang police attached great importance to it, quickly set up a special task force, named the case the "July 25, 2002 Liu Moumiao Murder Case," and devoted full efforts to cracking the homicide. Within just over ten days, all suspects except Luan Mouwei and Kou Mouzhao were apprehended one after another. In 2003, the Pingdingshan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Liu Mouchao and Kou Mouxiang to life imprisonment for intentional injury; Tang Moucheng to 13 years in prison for intentional injury; and Wang Mouhuan and Liu Mouguo to three years in prison for intentional injury.

Like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow; vanished without a trace

After Wang Mouhuan, Liu Mouguo, Liu Mouchao, Tang Moucheng and Kou Mouxiang were arrested, Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei fled upon hearing the news. On August 6, 2002, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City listed Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei as wanted online for suspected intentional homicide.

In order to apprehend Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei as soon as possible, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City conducted an in-depth analysis and assessment of the two men's social relationships, striving to obtain valuable leads. After days of effort, the investigators obtained a lead that Luan Mouwei might be hiding at the home of his father-in-law in Mengzhai Township, Wuyang County. That day, the bureau quickly organized more than 100 police officers and went to Wuyang County to arrest Luan Mouwei. Because Luan Mouwei had a strong awareness of counter-surveillance, he was ultimately not captured.

△Arrest deployment scene

Through further investigation, the detectives obtained another lead that Luan Mouwei was a worker at a company in Pingdingshan City and might have fled to his sister's home in Pingdingshan. The bureau again organized police to go to Pingdingshan to arrest him, but he was still not captured.

As time passed, the police officers changed one batch after another, but over the 20 years, the Wugang police never gave up the pursuit of the two suspects, always listing the two as key fugitives under supervision and doing everything possible, sparing no effort, in their pursuit work.

Whenever there was even a hint of a lead, they organized elite police officers to travel across the country to carry out the pursuit, and repeatedly made contact with the relatives of the two suspects, hoping to persuade Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei to turn themselves in as soon as possible.

In March 2003, June 2004, and during the "Clean Net Operation" in 2011, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City repeatedly organized detectives to go to Zhoukou in Henan, Shaanxi, Tibet and Jilin Province, where Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei might be hiding, to carry out arrests, but all returned empty-handed.

Never giving up; the dawn reappears; a thousand-mile manhunt

Over the years, the investigating officers of the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City had always "branded" the suspects Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei in their minds, never giving up the work of analyzing and pursuing the two. The baton of pursuit was passed down from one generation of criminal investigation officers to the next.

Time flies; seasons have come and gone many times. On every holiday, the detectives gave up their rest to stake out and conduct investigative sweeps at the former residences of Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei, and carried out analysis and assessment around the escape routes of Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei, striving to obtain valuable leads.

Eighteen years had passed since the case occurred. Although the case files from that year had yellowed and grown old, and the various pursuit analyses had formed thick volumes, the appearances of Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei were deeply etched into the mind of every detective. The police still focused their investigation on the families and social relationships of Kou Mouzhao and Luan Mouwei, conducting in-depth analysis of relevant information and comprehensively comparing various leads, until March 2019, when investigators determined a lead that the suspect Kou Mouzhao might be hiding in Lhasa, Tibet.

Through meticulous investigation, deployment, decisive action and continuous effort, on March 23, 2019, with the cooperation and assistance of the Jinzhu West Road Police Station of the Chengguan Branch in Lhasa, Tibet, the arresting officers successfully captured the suspect Kou Mouzhao in Chengguan District of Lhasa.

Upon interrogation, the suspect Kou Mouzhao confessed to the criminal facts of intentional homicide. On December 5, 2019, the Pingdingshan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Kou Mouzhao to life imprisonment for intentional homicide, with deprivation of political rights for life.

After Kou Mouzhao was brought to justice, in order to apprehend the last remaining suspect Luan Mouwei as soon as possible, the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City carried out analysis and verification time and again, but due to limited investigative conditions, the case never saw a breakthrough, and the suspect Luan Mouwei was never captured.

Since the new Party committee leadership of the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City took office in November 2020, the Wugang police launched a campaign to crack unsolved homicide cases, once again listing the fugitive in this homicide case as a key target for arrest, and set up a special team to pursue Luan Mouwei, launching an all-out manhunt.

By changing their approach to the case and expanding the scope of investigation, the investigators renewed their efforts on the case. Until early August 2021, the case took a new turn: through extensive visits and investigative work, the investigating officers finally discovered a lead that the suspect Luan Fangwei might be hiding in Jilin Province.

△Meeting to study and deploy the pursuit of Luan Mouwei (2021)

△The suspect Luan Mouwei captured (2021)

The task force officers immediately rushed to Jilin Province, 2,000 kilometers away. With the strong support of the local police, they carried out meticulous investigation, overcoming difficulties such as unfamiliarity with the place, poor language communication, and the complex environment where Luan Mouwei frequented. Taking all factors into comprehensive consideration, they formulated a careful arrest plan. On August 23, 2021, with the cooperation and assistance of the Jilin police, the arresting officers successfully brought Luan Mouwei to justice.

△SWAT police escorting the suspect Luan Mouwei back to Wugang (2021)

△The suspect Luan Mouwei identifying the scene (2021)

Upon interrogation, the suspect Luan Mouwei confessed to the criminal facts of intentional homicide. With that, the "July 25, 2002" murder case was successfully closed. The task force officers' 20 years of arduous work and loyal performance of duty upheld the dignity of the law and defended social fairness and justice.

At present, the suspect Luan Mouwei has been criminally detained by the Public Security Bureau of Wugang City in accordance with the law for intentional homicide, and severe punishment under the law awaits.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378233.html