Zhejiang Online News on April 3,
At around 10 PM on the night of April 1, Zhao Qing's (a pseudonym) mobile phone rang. The 42-year-old lawyer pulled his Mercedes over at the intersection of Liberation Road and Youth Road in Hangzhou. As soon as he picked up the phone, two men suddenly appeared by the car. Before Zhao Qing could react, they got into the front passenger seat and the back seat respectively. A folding fruit knife was quickly pressed against Zhao Qing.
"Hand over your phone. How much money do you have?" The voice of the bandit was very low.
I've been robbed!
Zhao Qing felt a chill down his spine, but he quickly calmed down. As a lawyer, Zhao Qing had rich knowledge of psychology. He knew that at this critical moment, he must remain calm.
Zhao Qing handed another phone to the bandits while hiding the one that wasn't hung up. Subsequently, this phone remained in call mode.
Just like in the Hong Kong movie "Keep Talking", this phone became one of the key factors for the hostage's rescue.
In the following two hours, the two bandits forced Zhao Qing to withdraw more than 30,000 yuan from 8 ATMs in the urban area of Hangzhou. While Zhao Qing was dealing with them, he was also waiting for the best chance to escape.
At the time of the incident, a young man who happened to pass by the Mercedes noticed what was happening inside the car. He thought something was wrong and dialed 110.
At 12:20 AM yesterday, Zhao Qing was rescued at the intersection of Baoshu Road and Wensan Road.
Eyewitness Alarm: Two Men Held the Driver in a Big Benz
At 10:26 PM on April 1, the atmosphere in the Hangzhou 110 Command Center suddenly became tense. A young man had just made an emergency call, saying that there were two men holding something unknown near the Xinhua Bookstore at Guanxiangkou, forcing a Mercedes driver. Hang Lijun immediately called the Shangcheng Public Security Bureau and the Traffic Police Brigade under their jurisdiction, requesting immediate action on the scene. Less than a minute later, the emergency call rang again, this time it was a friend of Zhao Qing's.
"I was just talking to Zhao Qing on the phone, everything was fine, then suddenly I heard 'Who are you? I don't have any money!' Such strange words. Is Zhao Qing in trouble? Has he been controlled by someone?" The tone of the friend was very urgent, and he quickly informed the license plate number of Zhao Qing's Mercedes.
The robbery happened in the downtown area! We must patrol and set up checkpoints immediately to monitor and rescue the victim.
The Phone Maintaining Communication "Broadcasts" the Situation Inside the Car
"Target spotted near Hede Road and Hedong Road... Target spotted on the northbound side of Desheng Elevated Road... Target spotted at Chaohui Road and Zhongshan North Road..." At this point, Zhao Qing and the two bandits inside the Mercedes had no idea that hundreds of police eyes were already watching them closely. To ensure the safety of the hostages, the police also organized a five-person team composed of personnel from the Criminal Investigation Brigade and the Hubin Police Station, driving secretly behind the Mercedes.
Inside the car, Zhao Qing's dropped phone remained in communication mode. What he said to the bandits was transmitted to his friend's ear on the other end of the line, naturally allowing the police to promptly obtain first-hand information.
It was an Apple brand phone, appearing to be off-screen but actually connected.
From the moment Zhao Qing put down the communicating phone, he forced himself to stay calm. "I won't report it." Zhao Qing kept driving while comforting the two bandits. The bandits asked if he had money nearby, and Zhao Qing took out over a thousand yuan cash and a Tudor watch.
"What about bank cards?!"
Zhao Qing took out a card, claiming there was indeed money in it, but not much.
Driving a big Benz, the bandits withdrew money 8 times in the city area.
The bandits forced Zhao Qing to drive onto the Zhonghe Elevated Road, heading north. "This is the direction out of the city, it would be troublesome if we really go out of the city." Thinking quickly, Zhao Qing said that there might not be many ATMs in the suburban areas, and it wouldn't be as convenient to withdraw money as in the city center. After thinking about it, the two bandits agreed to turn back to the city.
To give himself a chance and time to be rescued, Zhao Qing told the bandits that a bank card can withdraw up to 20,000 yuan a day, and it was almost midnight. Once past midnight, it would be possible to withdraw money again. "Let's look for ATMs in the city area, they are everywhere." Zhao Qing said.
Thus, the two bandits alternated between one staying in the car with a knife threatening Zhao Qing and the other getting out of the car to withdraw money.
They withdrew money 8 times in the city area.
The last withdrawal was at the ATM outside the Minsheng Bank near the West Lake Digital Harbor on Wensan Road, which was already midnight on February 2nd.
"Target spotted at the intersection of Wensan Road and Qiuzhi Alley." At this moment, Officer Jiang from the Wenjiao Team of the Xihu Traffic Police Brigade discovered the Mercedes. The Beishan, Liuxia, Wenxin, and Sandun teams immediately moved in from four directions.
Why was the red light at the Baoshu Road intersection so long?
Zhao Qing suddenly made a U-turn in reverse on Wensan Road.
At 12:10 AM, the Mercedes was in the queue of vehicles waiting for the red light.
The red light at the intersection of Wensan Road and Baoshu Road stayed longer than usual.
Afterward, Zhao Qing learned that the traffic police deliberately extended the red light to save him.
"Wasn't that your car making a U-turn in reverse?" A traffic officer approached Zhao Qing, saying they wanted to check for violations. Zhao Qing immediately opened the car door, and almost simultaneously, he felt the traffic officer's hand pulling him out immediately.
The two bandits inside the car had no reaction at all.
The traffic officer also instructed the cars in front and to the right of the Mercedes not to move, blocking any possible escape route. The car of the five-person team, keeping a deliberate distance, quickly drove up, trapping the two bandits like fish in a barrel. One of them even threw the fruit knife onto a police car when getting out.
One of the bandits was named Xu Wenwu, 32 years old, the other named Cui Wenwu, 19 years old, both from Nanping, Fujian province. Both had criminal records.
Because they were short of money, the two decided to rob that evening. They hailed a taxi from the Xiangfu area and had already driven around the Youth Road area for over two hours. Coincidentally, Zhao Qing's Mercedes came into their view.
Gaining the trust of the bandits was my first step to self-rescue
"It's not true that I wasn't nervous, but I quickly calmed down. I had to make sure I didn't get hurt." Zhao Qing said he spent the whole day at home, recalling that more than an hour early in the morning, feeling quite fortunate.
"It was the two phones that saved my life. Especially that Apple phone, it can keep the call connected while the screen is black." Zhao Qing said that when those two bandits got into his car, he was still on the phone with a friend using that Apple phone. Seeing the situation was not good, he put the phone aside without hanging up.
From that moment on, Zhao Qing believed that his friend should have heard everything that happened inside the car. "At that time, I intentionally said loudly, 'What are you doing? I don't have any money.'"
"Letting my friend know what happened, after achieving this step, I calmed down. I was thinking, they want money, I need to let them feel at ease, I will give them the money." Zhao Qing studied psychology in university, and he also applied this knowledge.
"I need to make them believe me, this is my first step in self-rescue. I said there is money, but it's all in the card, and it needs to be withdrawn bit by bit. Saying this, they gradually trusted me, which makes things easier."
"No matter what, I need to let them withdraw the money, this way, their trust in me will increase. But I planned well, the money anyway cannot be taken out much, withdrawing it once by once, I need to seize the opportunity." After seeing the ATM for the first time, the other party took the card from Zhao Qing, asked for the password, and went down to withdraw the money. Zhao Qing showed full cooperation, with no intention of running away or reporting the crime.
"After they got the first batch of money, I felt more reassured, they probably believed me."
The phone was still connected, but my phone that was still connected was eventually discovered. An hour after the incident, a friend called this phone, and the phone screen lit up. Upon noticing, the other party immediately became alert, but because Zhao Qing had already gained their trust, he slightly moved the phone, and it turned black again.
"I told them the phone was off, no problem." The bandits believed him again. This phone that was still in communication ultimately did not fall into their hands.
"All along, I tried to create various troubles to make the car drive slowly or stop. At the Wensan Road intersection, due to my reversing, the car finally got stuck (later found out this was one of the actions implemented by the police). At this time, I saw four police cars appear in front, back, left, and right, giving me confidence."
Stuck among dozens of cars, Zhao Qing was prepared. "The police car was only about ten meters away, then the traffic officer walked over, I knew I was saved."
Zhao Qing said that he actually had many opportunities to escape, but he did not do so because he was looking for an opportunity that was absolutely safe.