BEIJING: A Chinese fugitive who posed as his deceased twin brother for 19 years was recently arrested after his late brother’s ex-girlfriend identified him.
In 2002, a robbery took place in Yuhuan, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Seven suspects abducted the victim and robbed him of cash and valuables.
Local police quickly arrested six of the suspects, but the seventh, surnamed Chen, escaped.
Police searched extensively for Chen but failed to find him, and the case eventually went cold.
Five years later, Yuhuan police received a notice from central China’s Anhui province stating that Chen’s household registration had been cancelled because he had died in a traffic accident.
The police therefore closed the case, seeing no reason to continue pursuing a suspect who was believed to be dead.
However, 19 years later, Yuhuan police came across an unusual clue from Anhui during a routine review. It suggested that a man there had been living for years under the identity of his deceased twin brother.
Criminal investigator Long Yuwen retrieved the 2002 robbery case file and compared the identities, places of origin and family ties involved. He found similarities between Chen and the man mentioned in the clue.
Yuhuan police quickly formed a special task force and travelled to Anhui to investigate Chen’s status.
There, Chen’s mother, sister and fellow villagers covered for him. They said it was the younger Chen who had died in the accident, when in fact he had taken the identity of his older twin brother, who was the one who died.
Moreover, official records held by the local household registration office, traffic police and funeral home all confirmed Chen’s death. Police were also unable to obtain the original accident file, making it difficult to prove their suspicions.
They then turned to their last resort: archived ID photos.
Although the twin brothers looked strikingly alike, they had distinguishing features.
While reviewing the records, police discovered that nine days after Chen was registered as dead in 2007, his “older” brother applied to change his name. At the same time, the “older” brother submitted a new ID photo, whose facial features, expression and other details differed completely from those in his previous photo.
When Chen’s close relatives refused to cooperate, police tracked down his elder brother’s ex-girlfriend, Deng. She had been discussing marriage with him but abruptly ended the relationship after the traffic accident.
After police explained the relevant laws and policies, Deng eventually confirmed that the person who died in the accident 19 years earlier was Chen’s older brother, not the fugitive.
Police then arrested Chen in June – 24 years after he committed the crime.
By then, he was living an ordinary, peaceful life under a new name, confident that his identity-switching plan would continue to work.
He faces a prison sentence of three to 10 years under China’s Criminal Law.
“The ex-girlfriend had it the worst in this case,” one online observer commented.
“Haven’t Chen’s mother and sister also committed the crime of harbouring a fugitive?” another asked. - South China Morning Post
