On October 25th, Zhang from Linqu County in Shandong Province was legally arrested for robbing 15 women and raping 8 of them. Zhang, who is 29 years old this year, worked in the Binhai District. Since July 2006, he committed a series of crimes with brutal means - he would usually follow lone women in quiet alleys, then use knives or hit them on the head with stones, bricks, or chain locks to force them into submission before raping and robbing them.
In September this year, after analyzing related cases, the Binhai police successfully captured Zhang.
### Incident in the Field
On the afternoon of August 31st, Ms. Yuan, who lived in the Dagawo Street area of Binhai District, was working in her millet field as usual when an unimaginable event occurred.
Around 5 PM, a man suddenly appeared in the field, wielding a bicycle chain lock. Without saying a word, he brutally beat her and attempted to rape her. Despite Ms. Yuan's fierce resistance, she was no match for him due to his strength and her injuries, and he ultimately succeeded.
After committing the assault, the man also robbed Ms. Yuan of her mobile phone before leaving.
Once the man had gone, Ms. Yuan, still shaken, immediately reported the incident to the police. The Binhai Public Security Bureau took the case very seriously, quickly assembling a special task force of experienced detectives to conduct a thorough investigation at the scene.
### Four Years of Crimes: Robbing 15, Raping Eight
The task force carefully reviewed the patterns and characteristics of recent rape and robbery cases in search of clues. They found that there had been multiple incidents of street robberies in the urban-rural fringe areas of their jurisdiction, some involving sexual assaults.
The officers worked overtime, conducting extensive investigations, interviews, and stakeouts across the entire district. When they investigated a rental property, they learned that Zhang, a 29-year-old male tenant, had recently been acting suspiciously.
The police discreetly began investigating Zhang. They discovered that Zhang, originally from Yishan Town in Linqu County, worked at a company in the Binhai District. His physical description closely matched the victims' accounts.
The task force determined that Zhang was a major suspect in the crimes.
On September 19th, Zhang was spotted near a chemical company in Binhai. After receiving the tip-off, the police swiftly coordinated and deployed forces, eventually capturing him as he was about to flee.
Through further investigation by the task force, Zhang quickly confessed to committing over a dozen crimes since July 2006, including robbing 15 lone women in the Binhai area and raping 8 of them cruelly. Ms. Yuan was one of the victims.
It was revealed that during his crimes, Zhang typically followed women in secluded alleys, and sometimes even broke into homes. His methods were extremely violent – he often used knives or struck victims on the head with stones, bricks, or chain locks, forcing them to comply before committing rape and robbery.
### Previous Convictions for Theft
An investigating officer told reporters that although Zhang was not yet old, he had considerable experience in committing crimes. As early as 2001, Zhang was sentenced to four years in prison for theft by the Linqu County People's Court. In 2007, he was again sentenced to six months in prison for theft by the Hanting District People's Court.
The officer said: "According to Zhang's confession, he committed more than ten crimes. However, some victims have not yet reported the incidents. We urge any women who were raped or robbed by this man using similar violent methods to contact us promptly so we can fully investigate all the cases."
On October 25th, with the approval of the Hanting District People's Procuratorate, Zhang was formally arrested by the police. (Xinhua News Agency Shandong Channel / Weifang News Network, Jia Hui, Yuan Fang, Jin Song)