"The day has finally come." When Fan Moubin saw Deputy Director Ding Guocheng of the Zhongkai Public Security Bureau showing him a police ID from Huizhou, he immediately lost heart and confessed to the illegal acts he committed years ago. This criminal, who had been involved in a major case of burying four people alive and had fled for 17 years, was finally captured in the "Clear Web Operation." Fan Moubin is also the longest-fugitive suspect that Huizhou police have caught in recent years.
In the same case, six people were executed. In 1994, Chen Mouchang's younger brother borrowed 140,000 yuan from Qiu Moushan but was unable to repay it. On April 19, when Qiu Moushan arrived with three others to collect the debt, Chen Mouchang gathered seven people, including Fan Moubin, and buried Qiu Moushan and his three companions alive at the Huangsha Reservoir in Zhenlong Town. Later, the police arrested Chen Mouchang and the other seven individuals. Subsequently, after a court ruling, six people were executed, another was sentenced to a severe punishment, and only Fan Moubin seemed to vanish into thin air. Since the public security authorities were unable to obtain his photograph, his real appearance remained largely unknown.
According to Fan Moubin's confession after his arrest, on that night, he rode a motorcycle to Chiang to pick up a Sichuanese girlfriend, then rushed to Guangzhou and took a bus to Sichuan. After staying in Sichuan for half a month, he returned to Dongguan. After working in Dongguan for a year, feeling insecure, he fled to the mountains in Hunan to cut trees. Because the boss did not pay him wages, in early 1997, he fled to Hainan. Initially, he worked on some construction sites doing plumbing and electrical engineering, and when business was good, he became a small foreman with two or three dozen workers under him. Before fleeing, Fan Moubin was already married in Huizhou with a four-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. During his escape, he started a relationship with a Hunanese girlfriend in Hainan, learning Hunanese and Sichuanese, and always claimed he was from Hunan, adopting the alias Long Hu.
Upon seeing the Huizhou police badge, he immediately lost spirit.
Since the "Clear Web Operation" began on May 26 this year, the fugitive pursuit team contacted Fan's family and village cadres from various aspects, obtaining clues about Fan Moubin's whereabouts and analyzing that he or his significant relations were likely in Changde, Hunan, and Haikou, Hainan.
On November 29, the pursuit team traveled to Hunan, Sichuan, Hubei, and Hainan, finally locking down the village where Fan Moubin resided with the strong assistance of the police in Changde and Haikou.
At 10 p.m. on December 11, the police knocked on the door claiming they were checking rooms. Already asleep, Fan Moubin got up and opened the door. Initially, he calmly claimed he was from Hunan. But upon seeing Deputy Director Ding Guocheng present his Huizhou police ID, he immediately lost heart and voluntarily confessed to the crimes he committed years ago: "I knew you were coming to arrest me, I've just been waiting for you." Fan Moubin said that after fleeing for so many years, he had never seen anyone from Huizhou or Huizhou police. He mentioned recently having a premonition that he would be caught but lacked the courage to return to Huizhou to surrender himself. At the time of his escape, Fan Moubin was only 25 years old; now, at 42, he looked haggard and aged.
Dialogue:
Every night was torment, and I could only fall asleep after drinking.
South China Morning Post (SCMP): How long has it been since you left Huizhou?
Fan Moubin: Since committing the crime and fleeing, I haven't returned to Huizhou for 17 years. Returning felt familiar. I once thought about returning to Huizhou to surrender, but I never had the courage.
SCMP: Did you ever think you'd be caught? What was life like on the run?
Fan Moubin: I never thought I could escape for 17 years, but being caught was inevitable. Recently, I foresaw that I would be caught, so I didn't resist when I saw the Huizhou police. Every day of my escape, my heart suffered. I never went to bed before midnight, and I could only fall asleep after drinking at night. Outside, because I didn't have an ID card, even if someone bullied me, I could only endure it silently. There was a boss who didn't pay me my wages, leaving me unable to pay my workers, forcing me to borrow high-interest loans. In times without money, I also felt despair and thought about self-harm.
SCMP: They say you can speak Hunanese and call yourself Hunanese?
Fan Moubin: Before fleeing, I had friends from Hunan and Sichuan, so I could understand their language, and later during my escape, I learned easily. To avoid being caught, I dared not say I was from Guangdong, so I only claimed I was from Hunan, and according to street fortune-telling, I adopted the alias "Long Hu."
SCMP: Now that you're back, what do you want to do most?
Fan Moubin: Speak out everything from the past, take responsibility for my actions. I deeply regret what I did back then, and no matter how I'm judged, I accept it. I once said that even if I die, I want to die in Huizhou. Coming back now feels like a relief, and I feel very tired, finally able to get a good night's sleep.
SCMP: Don't you want to see your children? Your family?
Fan Moubin: Saying I don't want to see them would be a lie, but what use would it be to see them after all these years? I've already owed them too much, so I dare not see them.
SCMP: Do you know the outcome of the case back then? Do you know the situation of the people you committed the crime with?
Fan Moubin: No. I never inquired, and there was no newspaper or TV to watch.
Data:
Zhongkai: Arrested three murder suspects
By December 12, the Zhongkai Public Security Bureau had captured 59 online wanted persons, including 30 through persuasion and 29 through capture, including Liu Moubing, who killed and dismembered someone in Chenjiang in 2005 and fled for seven years, Li Moujing, who broke into a house in Lixin in 2008, robbed, and killed someone and fled for four years, and Fan Moubin, who buried four people alive at the Huangsha Reservoir in 1994 and fled for seventeen years.
Dayawan: 46 wanted persons captured
So far, 46 of the 52 online wanted persons by the Dayawan Public Security Bureau have been removed, including 19 captures and 27 surrenders, achieving a clearance rate of approximately 89%, and assisting local public security agencies in capturing 26 online wanted persons.
Other Pursuit Cases in Zhongkai:
Killing Girlfriend, Dismembering Body, Changing Name, Escaping for Five Years
Recently, with the cooperation of Shenzhen police, the Zhongkai Public Security Bureau captured a murder suspect, Liu Moubing (male, born in Guangshui, Hubei in 1969), who had fled for five years after killing and dismembering someone.
On April 29, 2006, a dismembered female corpse was found in a discarded suitcase in a rented house in Daguangling Village, Chenjiang. Upon investigation, the deceased was Wang Mouying, who worked in a factory in Changping, Dongguan, and Liu Moubing, who worked with her, was a major suspect. Further investigations revealed that Liu Moubing had an illicit relationship with Wang Mouying and, fearing exposure, killed and dismembered Wang Mouying, dumped her body in Huizhou, and fled.
After extensive detailed investigations, the pursuit team ultimately identified a suspicious person named Sheng Mouhong working in Shenzhen. By comparing photographs of Sheng Mouhong and Liu Moubing, it was confirmed that Sheng Mouhong was actually Liu Moubing, and the murder suspect who had fled for five years was finally apprehended.
Home Invasion Robbery and Murder Using Younger Brother’s ID for Three Years
On April 14, 2008, Xiong Mouping (male, 46 years old) was bound and robbed in a rented house in Lilin Town, and subsequently killed with a sharp weapon. Investigations revealed that Li Moujing (male, born in 1987) was one of the perpetrators and had fled after the incident.
On December 7 this year, the Zhongkai Public Security Bureau obtained an important clue from Hunan indicating that Li Moujing might be using his younger brother Li Moutian's ID. The pursuit team quickly located Li Moujing's position. In the early hours of December 11, the pursuit team successfully captured Li Moujing in a cyber cafe in Dongcheng District, Dongguan. Upon questioning, Li Moujing admitted to the home invasion robbery and murder without hesitation.
Elder Persuades Murder Suspect to Surrender in Dayawan
Three years ago, Guo Moujian from Dongyuan County, Heyuan City, committed a murder in Dayawan and fled to Anhui. Recently, after being persuaded by a senior member of his family, Guo Moujian finally surrendered.
On the evening of October 17, 2008, Tang Mou and Wu Mou, along with several fellow townspeople, were spending time at a hair salon in Xiashuang, Dayawan, when they argued with the salon owner Guo Mou due to dissatisfaction with the service attitude. Guo Moujian, responsible for overseeing the salon, tried to stop the disturbance and was also injured. Subsequently, Guo Moujian called for help from Zeng Moulin, Xu Mou, Huang Moujiang, and Liu Mouming, and they violently attacked Tang Mou and Wu Mou, ultimately resulting in Tang Mou dying from severe injuries and Wu Mou sustaining serious wounds.
After the incident, some of the suspects involved were captured, but Guo Moujian, after fleeing, rarely contacted the outside world, making police investigations difficult.
On November 5 this year, suspect Liu Mouming, accompanied by his family, voluntarily surrendered to the Xiangyang police station. On November 9, suspect Huang Moujiang, who had been hiding under an assumed name in a residential complex in Huiyang, was also captured.
However, the ringleader Guo Moujian still remained at large. Detective Lieutenant Li Xinxi of the First Detachment of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Dayawan Public Security Bureau and other police officers repeatedly communicated with Guo Moujian's parents and relatives in his hometown. Recently, they successfully persuaded a senior member of his family to convince Guo Moujian to agree to surrender.
Guo Moujian informed the Dayawan police over the phone that after the incident, he fled to Chuzhou City, Anhui Province. However, he was concerned about being captured along the way back to Huizhou and proposed that the Dayawan Public Security Bureau send personnel to bring him back to Huizhou. On November 30, Guo Moujian ended his life on the run and was subsequently escorted back to Huizhou by the police.
Written by: South China Morning Post reporters Yang Zhenhua, Zhu Yong, Correspondent Wang Jun
Photographed by: South China Morning Post reporter Tian Fei