The deaf fugitive suspected of being responsible for the explosions that killed at least 108 people in the north China industrial city of Shijiazhuang has been arrested.
Mr Jin Ruchao is reported to have confessed to his crimes after his capture in a beach resort in the south-western province of Guangxi.
Chinese State television showed police in camouflage uniforms bundling Mr Jin into a black car outside a primary school in Beihai. The town is near the Vietnam border and is notorious for its smuggling. It is also an exit point for illegal emigration.
Four explosions wrecked dormitories in Shijiazhuang early last Friday, killing at least 108 and injuring several more.
The Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that Mr Jin also admitted to the murder of his girlfriend in the southern province of Yunan on March 9th. It said police picked up his trail in Beihai on Thursday evening with the help of the public. He had a bounty of $18,000 on his head.
Despite official reports that he was deaf and communicated with pen and paper, the television pictures showed him apparently speaking easily with police.
Police have said Mr Jin was their main suspect but that he could have had help from accomplices or a criminal gang in Shijiazhuang. He was sacked from the Number 3 cotton mill in 1983 for "hooliganism" but kept a room in the factory's dormitory.