China murder fugitive lives secret double life as monk in temple, has wife and 2 children, snared after 23 years on the run
- Accomplice captured shortly after killing as wanted man flees 1,000km from scene of crime
- Police raid family home after tip-off, discover fugitive living life of religious devotee
A fugitive killer in China has been caught after 23 years on the run, revealing his shocking secret double life as a monk and father of two.
The murder suspect, surnamed Li, killed two people in eastern China’s Zhejiang province in 2001 and managed to evade arrest. His accomplice was captured immediately.
It was not until March that the police in Zhejiang province discovered Li’s whereabouts after receiving a tip-off that he was in southeastern China’s Guangdong province, 1,000km away from the scene of the crime.
A task force was sent to the location, where he was found to be living as a monk in a Buddhist temple.
Police investigators also discovered that he was secretly living with a woman and the couple had a son and daughter.
When Li’s rented flat was raided while he was asleep, he first denied, then admitted he was the fugitive.
It transpired that he had at first fled to his hometown in southwestern Sichuan province and then moved on to nearby Hunan province.
There he picked up an identity card belonging to a man with the surname Liu, and had lived under his name since.
He also studied at a Buddhist college and began living in the Guangdong temple in 2008.
To evade capture, Li disguised himself when he went out and installed surveillance cameras around the temple.
He had not contacted his family in Sichuan for 23 years.
Li had planned to go on the run again – this time to Tibet – but was caught before he had the chance.
The bizarre details of the case have stunned many people online.
“What a blossoming life he had as a fugitive,” one person on Weibo said.
“Even the most fanciful novels and films are not as good as real stories,” said another.
“Did the Buddha not know the abbot had committed crimes?” a third person quipped.
China’s Marriage Law does not ban monks from having a wife, but the understanding is that they should live an ascetic life because China’s Buddhist precepts do not allow monks to marry.
