5 Men Posing as Police Officers Kidnap and Extort
The incident occurred in Danzhou, where they impersonated police officers from another province to "arrest" people and extort money. Two of them have already been sentenced.
Danzhou, December 1 (reported by Lin Shuqi, with correspondent Zhong Zhenqiang) - Xiong Kai from Yiyang, Hunan Province, and others cited suspicion of online fraud as a reason to carry out kidnapping and extortion in Danzhou, demanding ransom from the victim's family. They wore fake police uniforms, impersonating police officers from another province, and kidnapped Fu from Nama Village, Nanfeng Town, Danzhou City, demanding a ransom of 100,000 yuan from Fu's family.
Recently, two accomplices of this criminal gang, Xiong Kai and Wang Dongwu (from Danzhou), were sentenced by the People's Court of Danzhou to seven years and three years in prison respectively for the crime of kidnapping.
Five men disguised as "fake police" plotted the fraud
In mid-October last year, "Fatso" (also known as "Ajin") called Xiong Kai from Dongguan, Guangdong, telling him about a way to make money. He said that online fraud was rampant in Danzhou, Hainan, so they could impersonate police officers from other provinces to extort people here. Xiong Kai agreed with Fatso's proposal and discussed specific roles with Fatso and "Chen Zong" (also known as "Aguo").
On October 26 of the same year, Xiong Kai traveled with Fatso, Chen Zong, and a middle-aged man on a long-distance bus to Hainan. The next day, Chen Zong drove a blue Buick car to Lingao. The following day, they moved to Danzhou and checked into a hotel in Nadah Town. Later, Aguo, Ajin, and a middle-aged man (whose name is unknown, all three are fugitives), Xiong Kai, and Wang Dongwu gathered and planned that the middle-aged man, Xiong Kai, and Wang Dongwu would impersonate police officers from another province to go to Nama Village, Nanfeng Town, Danzhou City, to kidnap Fu (they believed Fu was making money through online fraud). They would accuse Fu of being involved in online fraud and extort money from him. Wang Dongwu would be responsible for driving, while Xiong Kai and the middle-aged man would control the hostage.
Villager seized at home by "police"
At around 8 p.m. on October 29, after Ajin had scoped out the area in Nama Village, Wang Dongwu drove a Buick car rented from a Hainan automobile tourism rental company, carrying Xiong Kai and the middle-aged man to wait near Nama Village. Afterwards, Xiong Kai, Wang Dongwu, and the middle-aged man received a text message from Aguo. Knowing that Fu was at home, the three changed into pre-prepared fake police uniforms. Xiong Kai held an electric baton and handcuffs, the middle-aged man held handcuffs, and Wang Dongwu drove (the license plate was changed to a Guangdong one) to Fu's house.
Wang Dongwu waited at the door, while Xiong Kai and the middle-aged man entered Fu's house. They claimed to be staff members of the Guangdong Network Investigation Bureau, accusing Fu of being involved in online fraud and asking him to assist with the investigation.
They then seriously searched Fu's body and wrote a confiscation list for Fu. Afterward, Xiong Kai used the electric baton to hit Fu and handcuffed his hands, forcing Fu into the car. They also covered Fu's head with a pink bag and detained him in the bathroom of a room in the Innovation Garden on Zhongxing Avenue in Nadah Town, Danzhou City.
Fake police demand 100,000 yuan ransom
In the room at Innovation Garden, the middle-aged man searched Fu's body and took away a watch, a jade piece, a mobile phone, four bank cards, and 300 yuan in cash, forcing Fu to reveal the passwords of his bank cards. They lied that Fu's involvement in online fraud could result in more than 10 years in prison, demanding 100,000 yuan bail to release him.
At around 5 a.m. the next morning, Fu, following the prepared note by Xiong Kai et al., called his uncle and a friend, asking them to prepare 100,000 yuan for ransom, otherwise he would be taken to Guangzhou, making it harder to get him back later. Around 8 a.m. the same day, Aguo, Ajin, and the middle-aged man fled to Haikou, leaving Xiong Kai alone to guard Fu, while Wang Dongwu was responsible for delivering food. Aguo et al. withdrew 18,600 yuan from one of Fu's Agricultural Bank cards.
Afterward, Xiong Kai and others lied that they were investigating police officers or captains, repeatedly calling Fu's family, urging them to quickly prepare the 100,000 yuan bail and deposit the money into a bank account, otherwise Fu would be detained within 24 hours.
After haggling, Fu's family finally agreed to lower the bail to 70,000 yuan, but ultimately did not pay the ransom to Xiong Kai and others.
According to witness Wang Mou, at around 6 a.m. on October 30 last year, Fu's uncle called him, saying that Fu had been arrested by the police and required 100,000 yuan to be released. Afterwards, Wang himself received multiple calls or text messages asking him to prepare 100,000 yuan for bail. One call was made by a person with mainland Chinese accent claiming to be an investigating officer, another was made by someone claiming to be a captain using Fu's mobile phone, both demanding Wang to pay 100,000 yuan for bail. Wang felt suspicious and asked Fu's uncle to report the case immediately.
At around 11 p.m. on October 30, according to the report by Fu's family, the Criminal Investigation Team of Danzhou Public Security Bureau caught Xiong Kai in a room at Innovation Garden on Zhongxing Avenue in Nadah Town and rescued Fu. Subsequently, Wang Dongwu was also captured on Liberation North Road in Nadah Town. The involved watch, jade, and mobile phone were recovered and returned to Fu, but the involved bank cards and cash could not be retrieved.