One of three men who robbed and shot a police officer as he returned home from night duty in the early hours of April 11 has turned himself in, a police source in Liupanshui city, Guizhou Province said yesterday.

At 2:23 am on April 11, three armed men held up police officer Chi Zhongyan, who was on his way home alone after night duty. They frisked Chi and stole his pistol, then escaped after shooting and injuring the officer as he tried to fight back.

The case shocked local police, and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu ordered police departments to pull out all the stops to catch the criminals.

On April 12, the local government offered a 50,000 yuan (US$7,316) reward for information leading to an arrest. The next day as police officers were conducting house to house investigations in a village, a farmer called Jin Yunlin told police his son fitted the description of one of the suspects. He also said his son had previously been sentenced to two years imprisonment for a 2007 armed robbery.

The same day, Jin's son Jin Jin telephoned his family and admitted that he had been involved in robbing officer Chi Zhongyan. Jin Yunlin persuaded his son to turn himself in.

Later that evening, Jin Jin surrendered to the police and also gave them information about his two confederates, named as Zhu Yongjiang and Yang Guangjian.

(China.org.cn by Star Cheung April 15, 2009)