Wei Gang (right) and Qiu Chun德 did not express an intention to appeal in court.
The police successfully rescued the boy, three kidnappers - two were captured, one is still at large. Two kidnappers were sentenced to 8 years in prison yesterday.
An 8-year-old boy named Xiao Yu was playing in the park near his school when three strange uncles came up to him asking for directions. Without any suspicion, Xiao Yu got on their minivan, unaware that these three uncles would soon call his mother demanding a ransom of 100,000 yuan.
However, the kidnappers never harmed a single hair on Xiao Yu's body nor let him realize he had been kidnapped. After one night, Xiao Yu was rescued by the police, and two of the kidnappers were captured. Yesterday, the Liwan District Court of Guangzhou sentenced the two kidnappers to 8 years in prison for kidnapping.
Article and photos by reporter Lin Xiahu
Communicator Lifa Xuan
The little boy enthusiastically led the way
Unaware that he was being kidnapped
Xiao Yu, 8 years old, lived near Liwan Road. On January 18, 2010, during winter vacation, after lunch, Xiao Yu went downstairs to play alone. Around 2 p.m., he came to a primary school not far from home. There was a small garden at the school gate where he liked to play.
At this time, an uncle who was squatting at the park gate came up to Xiao Yu and asked, "How do you get to Zhoumen?" Xiao Yu pointed towards the direction of Zhoumen. The uncle then said, "Little friend, can you take us to Zhoumen?" Without any guard up, Xiao Yu happily agreed and was taken by the man onto a minivan parked at the park. Thus, Xiao Yu was taken away by the three uncles in the car.
In the car, the uncle continued to ask Xiao Yu questions like "What do your parents do" and "What are your parents' phone numbers." Xiao Yu gave his mother's mobile phone number to the uncle. They didn't go to Zhoumen but instead went to the residence of these men in Cen Village, Tianhe District. Xiao Yu asked the uncle when he would be sent back, and the uncle told him that the car was broken and needed repair. The three men turned on the computer for Xiao Yu to play games, surf the internet, and even made dinner for him. Xiao Yu quickly became so engrossed that he forgot about going home.
At 10 p.m., in the rented apartment in Cen Village, Xiao Yu was immersed in computer games. The uncle came over and told him that the car couldn't be fixed and they needed to buy a new one. At around 12 p.m., the uncle arranged for Xiao Yu to sleep first. He fell into a sweet dreamland.
Kidnappers extorted 100,000 yuan from the family
Around 3 p.m. that afternoon, Xiao Yu's grandmother found that Xiao Yu hadn't returned home, searched without success, and informed Xiao Yu's mother, Ahui.
At around 5 p.m., while Ahui was taking a bus home, she suddenly received a strange phone call. The man on the phone said, "Are you Xiao Yu's mother? Your son is with me now, your son is very safe. I came to Guangdong to work and was deceived. I want to go home, prepare some money." Ahui cried in panic, her mind blank, and begged the man to let her hear her son's voice. But the other side just told her to transfer 100,000 yuan by 10 p.m.
Ahui chose to report it to the police. That night, the kidnappers called many times urging payment. Around 10 p.m., Xiao Yu's father transferred 10,000 yuan in six installments to the account provided by the kidnappers. Meanwhile, two kidnappers withdrew 1900 yuan from an ATM machine. They didn't know that the rest of the money had already been frozen by the police.
At around 5 a.m. the next morning, Xiao Yu's parents received notice from the police that Xiao Yu had been successfully rescued, and the two kidnappers had been captured, with another one still at large. Later, Ahui heard from the police that when the police arrived at the rental apartment, Xiao Yu was sleeping soundly.
Watching TV news sparked evil thoughts
Imitating Shenzhen child kidnapping
The two kidnappers on the defendant's bench, Wei Gang and Qiu Chun德, were 31 and 30 years old respectively. Another kidnapper involved, Wu Jiawei, remains at large.
The prosecution charged that Wei Gang and Qiu Chun德, together with co-defendant Wu Jiawei, conspired and carried out the kidnapping of Xiao Yu, constituting the crime of kidnapping. According to Wei Gang's confession during the trial, one day last December, the three of them were having lunch when they saw a TV news story about a child kidnapping case in Shenzhen. Wu Jiawei then suggested, "This can also make money, right? Let's try it." However, nothing came of it at the time. Until January 18 this year, Wu Jiawei drove a minivan to pick him and Qiu Chun德 up, saying they were going to Liwan.
Wei Gang claimed that when they arrived at Liwan, it was noon. The three waited for two hours outside a primary school beside Rainbow Park. Later, Wu Jiawei brought a child onto the car and said in their language, "This is the kid," which was when he realized it was a kidnapping.
Regarding the prosecution's charges, Qiu Chun德 initially denied it. He said he didn't know it was a kidnapping, but rather a pick-up. "Pick-up? If it was a pick-up, why did you wait for two hours outside the elementary school? Why don't you know who you're picking up?" Facing the prosecutor's counter-questioning, both Wei Gang and Qiu Chun德 admitted guilt.
After a 5-minute recess, the court announced the verdict in court. The court sentenced Wei Gang and Qiu Chun德 to 8 years in prison for the crime of kidnapping in the first trial. Neither expressed an intention to appeal in court.
Prosecution suggestion
Building a "stereoscopic defense system"
When the Liwan District Court tried this case, they invited moral education teachers from several primary schools in Liwan District to attend as observers. Since summer vacation is approaching, it is also a high-risk period for student safety. In the prosecution opinion, the prosecutor proposed that in response to the frequent occurrence of student kidnapping cases, it is necessary to build a "stereoscopic defense system."
"The current issue of campus safety is becoming increasingly serious, with more reports causing panic. Careful analysis shows that their criminal methods are not sophisticated, and our defense system is also imperfect. Therefore, schools should regularly conduct safety education, teach children how to observe, enhance self-protection abilities, pay attention to suspicious individuals, and parents should not leave children alone for long periods. Children should inform their parents of their return time, and in the event of an incident, remain as calm as possible and report the incident immediately."