(By Yan Zhao Daily News, Liu Tao, intern Guo Xin) "Home is pretty good, just don't have money." Around 7 PM on April 21st, Ms. Wang returned home to find it had been burglarized, and there was a note left by the thief titled "Nighttime Message", saying that investing in Australian real estate has low risk and high returns. The note listed the stolen items and included a signature and phone number. At around 9 PM on April 21st, the Yuxi Criminal Investigation Team of the Qiaoxi Branch of the Shijiazhuang Public Security Bureau arrested this suspect who broke into homes near the Minxin River in Zhongnan Alley.
The thief left a note mocking the homeowner
At around 7 PM on April 21st, Ms. Wang from Shijiazhuang came back from a business trip and found that the curtains she had closed before leaving were open, and the windows that were supposed to be shut were also open. Upon further inspection, she discovered that her mobile phones, cameras, jade jewelry, even property certificates, household registration books, and pension insurance were all gone. However, there was one more thing - a note titled "Nighttime Message". A dagger was placed under the note.
The first paragraph of the note read: "Alas, filled with sorrow and anger," followed by a list of stolen items. The second paragraph began with: "When I came to your house, I left with tears in my eyes. The house is pretty good, just don't have money." Then it proposed that if the owner wanted the items back, they could meet and redeem them. Finally, it even left a phone number, self-identifying as Zhang, 18 years old.
Police catch the intruder
Ms. Wang reported the incident to the Yuxi Criminal Investigation Team, and the police contacted the suspect Zhang through the provided phone number. They arranged a meeting time and place. At around 9 PM, when Zhang appeared, he was caught on the spot, and the stolen goods, worth over 100,000 yuan, were recovered. Subsequently, multiple bank cards and ID cards were found at Zhang's residence.
According to Deputy Captain Zhang of the Yuxi Criminal Investigation Team, Zhang is from Ningjin and just turned 18 this year. He was previously caught for theft but was mainly educated due to his age. Last July, he returned to Shijiazhuang from elsewhere and continued stealing. He usually climbed into houses through windows during midnight or dawn, targeting floors from the ground floor to the fourth floor. If he stole cash, he would leave immediately; otherwise, he would look for valuable items and leave a note demanding ransom. Through investigations, the police confirmed six cases of burglary committed by Zhang, but he confessed to over 30 incidents.
Burglary as if entering his own home
On the afternoon of April 22nd, the criminal suspect Zhang was interviewed. Zhang remained calm throughout the interview, as if sitting on his own sofa chatting casually. When discussing his theft methods, he pointed to his forehead and said: "This, this idea came from here, no one taught me."
"At first, it was just to get some money, but after stealing many times, sometimes I didn't find much cash in people's homes, so I started stealing things. Sometimes, the stolen items are hard to sell and quite troublesome, so I thought about leaving notes to ask for some money. Each time, I didn't ask for much, just a few hundred yuan. It's actually pretty good; the other party's loss is relatively small, and both sides benefit. Leaving notes was also my own idea. I did it this way several times, leaving notes three or four times. The first time I left a note was in Guilin, where the victim settled privately with me and even offered to help me, advising me not to steal anymore. Later, I called her sister."
Zhang introduced that during each burglary, he often stayed in the victims' homes for a while, as if it were his own home. He smoked, used the toilet, and even looked through photos. He said he wasn't afraid of being caught. "I'm not really afraid. If the homeowner comes back, we can either settle privately or go down together." However, there were times when he failed. Once, after climbing up to the fourth floor via the balcony, a woman shouted loudly, scaring him so much that he fell directly from the fourth floor. Fortunately, he only suffered minor injuries.
Throughout the entire interview, Zhang remained clear-minded and spoke slowly. Only when talking about his growth experiences and family situation did he furrow his brow. "When I was two years old, my mother left because our family was poor. After that, I lived with my grandparents. My father is a construction worker, busy with work, no time to take care of me, and doesn't have much money. When I didn't have enough money and didn't want to be outdone by others, I started stealing at six or seven years old. Initially, my father hit me, but later stopped caring. When I was eight, my grandparents passed away, and I returned to live with my father. I dropped out of school after elementary school and started wandering around. I've been to many places, always stealing, unable to walk the righteous path. I returned to Shijiazhuang last July."
Currently, the case is still under further investigation.