Hatred, Revenge Motive for Fatal Shijiazhuang Explosions

Bomb Suspect Escorted to Shijiazhuang

---

Hatred towards his neighbor, his ex-wife, ex-mother-in-law and a lover motivated Jin Ruchao to cause the explosions that killed 108 people in the north China city of Shijiazhuang, police disclosed Saturday.

Police found that Jin used to live in apartment 201 of Unit 2 of the demolished No. 16 dormitory owned by the No. 3 Cotton Mill, and he was on bad terms with the family that lived in apartment 301 due to a dispute over property.

Jin, 41, jobless, was sentensed to a 10-year imprisonment in 1988 for raping.

Before the explosions, Jin had threatened on several occasions to kill the family by blowing up the building.

The devastated apartment No. 15 was the home of Jin's stepmother, who was hated by Jin, while another building destroyed in the explosions was the home of the parents of Shang Meilan, Jin 's ex-wife.

Police found that the dormitory where Shang Meilan and her husband lived was also destroyed in the explosions.

The fourth building destroyed in the explosions was a two-story apartment-block, which had been previously owned by Jin's own mother, but was sold by Jin's sister Jin Lixiang. Jin was very unhappy about the sale of his mother's building as he was given only 10,000 yuan (US$1205) from the proceeds.

Jin's sister Jin Lixiang said Jin had always liked making dynamite as well as playing around with sulphur, and had collected books on how to make dynamite.

She said her brother first started producing dynamite at their home in 1988.

Police found that Jin had cohabited for three months with Wei Zhihua, a girl from Southwest China's Yunnan province, but Wei left Jin after taking away 600 yuan from him.

Jin later borrowed 1,000 yuan from his sister to cover the expense of traveling to Yunnan as he wanted to take revenge on Wei Zhihua. Jin killed Wei on March 9 and fled.

When Jin was captured Friday morning in Beihai, a port city in south China, police discovered the ID card of Wei Zhihua, a divorce certificate and some dynamite in Jin's bag.

Jin later confessed to police how he bought the dynamite and smuggled it to Shijiazhuang after he killed Wei Zhihua, and also how he planned and went about blowing-up the buildings.

Judging from what Jin has confessed and the evidence the police collected at the venue of the crime, the conclusion can be drawn that Jin Ruchao is totally responsible for the fatal explosions, police said.

Jin is accused of causing four explosions on March 16 in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province. Four residential buildings were damaged, with 108 residents killed and 38 others injured. All four explosions occurred within about one hour and most of the deaths occurred at the No. 3 Cotton Mill.

Police launched a nationwide manhunt for Jin Ruchao, the major suspect in the case, just a few hours after the explosions. But Jin, a resident in one of the damaged buildings, was found to have fled soon after the explosions.

Police in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were informed of Jin's whereabouts in Beihai Thursday night and were able to catch him at 8:20 am Friday.

Jin is currently under further interrogation.