Three Suspects Arrested in Chinese Diplomat Shooting

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, July 02, 2002

Three Suspects Arrested in Chinese Diplomat Shooting

Kyrgyz police have arrested three suspects in the shooting of a Chinese diplomat in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, interior ministry spokesman Kubanych Keldibayev said Tuesday.

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Judicial departments of Kyrgyzstan have started investigation into the case that Chinese consul Wang Jianping and his driver were shot by two gunmen in Bishkek Saturday evening.

The investigation group was led by the interior minister of Kyrgyzstan and the best local police officers were sent, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

The Chinese side will also provide aide for investigation, according to sources with the interior ministry of Kyrgyzstan. A working group led by Chinese Foreign Ministry officials will go to Kyrgyzstan Tuesday.

The possibility can not be ruled out that Uygur separatists made the bloody case, Kyrgyzstani police said again.

The accident took place on Saturday evening, when Chinese consult to Kyrgyzstan Wang Jianping and a businessman rode in a limousine. Two gunmen opened fire to them, Wang and the businessman, who was driving the car, were shot at the spot.

Two young gunmen fired at Wang's Benzi, then fled the spot by a waiting car, witness said.

This is possibly a political murder and the gunmen were suspected Uygur separatists, who tried once again to draw attention, Kyrgyzstani interior official said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that China is "shocked" by the accident and strongly condemns the murders. China has asked the Kyrgyzstani said to investigate and arrest the murders as quickly as possible.

Uygur separatists are now active in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Two years ago a delegation from China's Xinjiang was attacked by Uygur separatists in Bishkek, with one died and two injured. The four Uygur separatists involved were later sentenced to death by judicial departments of Kyrgyzstan.

Authorities are looking at whether Uygur separatists were involved in the latest killings.

"We cannot rule out the theory that Uygur separatists were involved," said interior ministry spokesman Omurbek Egemberdiyev.

Three suspects Arrested

Kyrgyz police have arrested three suspects in the shooting of a Chinese diplomat in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, interior ministry spokesman Kubanych Keldibayev said Tuesday.

The three, two Chinese nationals and an ethnic Uighur Kyrgyz citizen, were being questioned on suspicion of being linked to the crime, he said, adding that Chinese security officials had arrived in Kyrgyzstan to help investigate the shooting.

The Chinese diplomat and his driver were gunned down in the centre of Bishkek late on Saturday, in an attack which local officials speculate may have involved Muslim separatists from China's Xinjiang region.

Eyewitnesses saw two young men fire a pistol at the diplomat's Mercedes at around 8:00 pm (1400 GMT) on Saturday before fleeing in another car, the interior ministry said.

Police said they were investigating whether his driver, an ethnic Uighur businessman, was the prime target of the crime.

China has condemned the killing as "an evil act" and urged the Kyrgyz authorities to conduct a speedy investigation and punish the culprits.

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