Suspects in murder case surrender after 18 years
By Wang Qingchu |
December 6, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SIX suspects involved in the shooting death of a well-known wildlife preservationist almost 18 years ago in Hoh Xil, China's largest tract of uninhabited land in the northwest Qinghai Province, have given themselves up.
Sonam Dargye was a government official of Zhiduo County and a volunteer who patrolled the barren and frigid Hoh Xil to protect endangered Tibet antelopes from poachers. He was killed in a battle with a poaching gang in Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in January 1994.
The six surrendered after the public security bureau in the autonomous prefecture of Yushu expanded its hunt for the wanted men in September, said Li Yongqian, a police officer with the criminal police squad.
Sonam Dargye and his four team members caught 20 poachers, confiscated seven cars and more than 1,800 pieces of antelope skin on January 18, 1994. He was subsequently ambushed by a group of 16 poachers and killed in the gunfight, Li said.
When people found his body, frozen in the harsh winter cold, he was still standing and in a position of trying to reload his gun.
One of the poachers was killed at the scene, and three others were caught, put on trial and received sentences ranging jail time to the death penalty.
A manhunt had continued sporadically in the years since the slaying. Police officers talked to the suspects' families many times, hoping they could persuade them to surrender.
Apart from the six who surrendered, five are still on the run, while one has died, said Li.
The story of Sonam Dargye gained wide public attention after Chinese director Lu Chuan made a movie called "Mountain Patrol" based on him in 2003. The movie won numerous awards.
Sonam Dargye was a government official of Zhiduo County and a volunteer who patrolled the barren and frigid Hoh Xil to protect endangered Tibet antelopes from poachers. He was killed in a battle with a poaching gang in Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in January 1994.
The six surrendered after the public security bureau in the autonomous prefecture of Yushu expanded its hunt for the wanted men in September, said Li Yongqian, a police officer with the criminal police squad.
Sonam Dargye and his four team members caught 20 poachers, confiscated seven cars and more than 1,800 pieces of antelope skin on January 18, 1994. He was subsequently ambushed by a group of 16 poachers and killed in the gunfight, Li said.
When people found his body, frozen in the harsh winter cold, he was still standing and in a position of trying to reload his gun.
One of the poachers was killed at the scene, and three others were caught, put on trial and received sentences ranging jail time to the death penalty.
A manhunt had continued sporadically in the years since the slaying. Police officers talked to the suspects' families many times, hoping they could persuade them to surrender.
Apart from the six who surrendered, five are still on the run, while one has died, said Li.
The story of Sonam Dargye gained wide public attention after Chinese director Lu Chuan made a movie called "Mountain Patrol" based on him in 2003. The movie won numerous awards.
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