ChinaLao Rongzhi, suspected of killing 7 people, including a girl, was arrested in Fujian province after 20 years of hiding.

Xiamen City Police in Fujian Province said Lao Rongzhi, 45, a serial killer, was arrested on November 30 while working at a watch shop.

Lao fled after his boyfriend Fa Ziying was arrested by police in Hefei City, Anhui Province in July 1999. Fa then refused to reveal the whereabouts of his girlfriend, and simultaneously launched false information to help Lao hide his identity.

Fa confessed he had kidnapped and killed 7 people and was executed in December 1999. Lao continued to hide under another identity.

The process of arresting Lao is part of the Chinese police's campaign to catch crooks and fleeing criminals. However, authorities refused to disclose how they found Lao.

Lao met Fa, who spent 8 years in prison for robbery, when he was 19 and a primary school teacher. Lao quit work and participated in many crimes with Fa in about three years.

Police said Lao had pretended to be a prostitute to lure the first victim to a desolate place in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, to commit a crime in 1996. The two suspects took all their jewelry and money. silver and forced this person to say his home address before killing. Lao and Fa broke into the victim's home, killing his wife and three-year-old daughter before stealing 200,000 yuan.

A year later, the two suspects continued kidnapping, killing two prostitutes and taking their possessions. Lao and Fa moved to Hefei City, Anhui Province in 1999 and killed two more people.

Police said Lao and Fa had built a small cell in the apartment, luring a man named Yin to come and lock it up for ransom. Fa continued to trick a carpenter to his house, killing this man in front of Yin to intimidate and demand a ransom of 300,000 yuan.

When Fa arrived at Yin's home for a ransom, the victim's wife called the police to arrest and shoot the suspect. Meanwhile, Lao killed Yin and quickly erased all traces and fled.

Xiamen police say Lao has been transferred to a prison in Nanchang City, where the first three murders occurred and is scheduled to be tried there.