(The content of this article is based on authoritative sources, and there are literature citation sources at the end of the article)
Late at night in July 2013, Zhu Xianjian swam across from North Korea to Tumen City, Jilin Province, China. In the days that followed, Zhu Xianjian wantonly stole and robbed in local villages, and even wounded people with a knife, almost killing people.
In the process of police chasing him, the reward amount soared all the way to 700,000 yuan. Just when people thought he was on the run, a tiny flaw revealed his whereabouts – a cigarette butt in a villager's house.
On November 28, 2021, under the round-up of the police, Zhu Xianjian was finally arrested. This ruthless fugitive was finally brought to justice after 41 days on the run.
Do no evil
After Zhu Xianjian successfully smuggled away, he avoided densely populated towns and lurked in remote rural areas of Jilin Province to avoid police pursuit.
The scattered and sparsely populated villages here were the perfect place for him to hide.
When he first arrived in the village, Zhu Xianjian was still a little cautious. In order to survive, he began stealing food and belongings from villagers' homes.
His targets were vacant houses for elderly people who lived alone or who had gone out to work. Taking advantage of the night, Zhu Xianjian sneaked into the villagers' homes and took away a lot of cash and valuable items. Although the amount is not large, it is enough for him to maintain his current life.
As time went on, Zhu Xianjian became more and more daring. No longer satisfied with simple theft, he began to rob villagers with impunity.
Once, he broke into a house and was unfortunately bumped into by his hostess. Zhu Xianjian didn't say a word, picked up the kitchen knife on the table, and threatened the hostess to hand over all the money.
The hostess was so frightened that she begged for mercy, and finally Zhu Xianjian snatched her gold necklace and cash before she gave up.
Zhu Xianjian's brutality soon spread through the village. People were terrified for fear of being his next target. Some villagers even chose to take refuge in their relatives' homes, not daring to spend the night at home.
In the face of the panic of the villagers, Zhu Xianjian intensified. He openly roamed the village during the day, looking for his next target, and at night he committed theft and robbery.
One night, he climbed through the window, thinking he was safe, but unexpectedly alarmed the old man. In a hurry, Zhu Xianjian picked up the fruit knife and stabbed at the old woman. The old man struggled desperately, but was finally stabbed by Zhu Xianjian. After Zhu Xianjian ransacked it, the old woman was already dying, covered in blood.
Zhu Xianjian's atrocities completely angered the villagers. They took up farm tools and formed militia patrols, vowing to bring the demon to justice.
Zhu Xianjian saw that the situation was not good, and knew that he could not stay for a long time. He broke into a villager's house for the last time and stole a suit of civilian clothes to hide his identity.
Before leaving, he did not forget to take a few packs of cigarettes and some cash. In this way, this terrifying fugitive disappeared into the night again.
His misdeeds soon caught the attention of the police. After receiving a report from the masses, the local police station immediately launched an investigation and reported Zhu Xianjian's criminal behavior to his superiors.
In order to avoid startling the snake, the police did not conduct a large-scale search for the time being, but chose to deploy control in advance and wait for the opportunity to move.
Zhu Xianjian seemed to smell danger, and after the last theft, he hurried out of the village.
According to eyewitnesses, someone had seen a suspicious man on the road outside the village, dressed in a black shirt and cap, walking in a hurry, most likely Zhu Xianjian.
The news of Zhu Xianjian's crime in the village spread, and the police realized the seriousness of the situation. This is no longer just an ordinary prison escape case, but a major challenge that endangers the safety of ordinary people.
According to Zhu Xianjian's escape route and modus operandi, the police focused on Mopanshan, Kouqian Town, Yongji County and other places. A large number of police forces were put into the operation of searching mountains, forests, and villages, trying to lock down Zhu Xianjian's hiding place in the shortest possible time.
Police helicopters have also joined the search team, scanning and detecting key areas from the air.
What the police didn't expect was that Zhu Xianjian's anti-reconnaissance ability was far beyond ordinary people. He always seems to be able to detect police movements in advance and move in time at critical moments.
Whenever the police laid a net in a certain location according to clues, Zhu Xianjian always escaped. Sometimes the police were able to determine that he was hiding within a radius of several kilometers, but eventually let him slip through his fingers.
Zhu Xianjian's cunning and the police's persistence made the search and arrest operation fall into a stalemate. In order to break the impasse as soon as possible, the police decided to resort to more flexible tactics.
They changed the previous way of fighting with large corps, and instead sent multiple small detachments to secretly ambush in the area where Zhu Xianjian might be haunted. These policemen in civilian clothes mingled with the local people, watching day and night, waiting for an opportunity to move.
At the same time, the police will further expand the scope of the search. They cooperated with the public security organs in neighboring provinces to carry out simultaneous search and arrest operations in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and other places.
The police are gradually realizing that relying solely on carpet searches may not work. Zhu Xianjian is too cunning and can always avoid the eyes and ears of the police. In order to break the deadlock, the police decided to break through from the inside and break down Zhu Xianjian's psychological defense.
In the end, Zhu Xianjian was arrested and sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
Prison break and abscond
However, just as his sentence was coming to an end, he made a shocking decision – to escape from prison and abscond.
On October 18, 2021, the short, fierce-eyed man saw the opportunity. In prison, Zhu Xianjian has always behaved well and won the trust of the prison guards for himself.
On this day, taking advantage of the gap between the handover of guards, he quickly climbed onto the AB gate canopy in the prison, followed the pre-ordered route, and ran in the direction of freedom.
Faced with the prison walls, which were several meters high, Zhu Xianjian jumped without hesitation. After falling heavily to the ground, he endured the pain and limped into the distance.
The sirens sounded, and the entire prison was thrown into chaos. The prison guards quickly organized a manhunt, but Zhu Xianjian had already disappeared into the night.
Zhu Xianjian's escape from prison is puzzling. He would have served only two more years in prison before he could be released.
However, there is speculation that he may have been reluctant to be repatriated to North Korea after his release, so he chose to take the risk. In any case, this criminal, who once covered the sky with one hand, is now a dangerous person at large again.
After learning that Zhu Xianjian had successfully escaped from prison, the Jilin Provincial Prison immediately issued a reward notice to the public.
In order to apprehend the criminal as soon as possible, they promised that anyone who provided clues to assist in the arrest would receive a reward of 100,000 yuan; And those who directly capture Zhu Xianjian can get a generous bonus of 150,000 yuan.
At the same time, the police are also in full swing to pursue the manhunt. They carefully analyzed Zhu Xianjian's criminal history and escape route, and mobilized a large number of police forces to carry out a carpet search in various parts of Jilin Province.
However, it was not difficult for this fugitive who was familiar with the techniques of survival in the wild to evade the police.
He first appeared in the area of Wangxiang Village and Mopan Mountain, 7 kilometers away from the prison, and was chased and intercepted by the police, and he escaped again.
Since then, people have successively found his traces in Erdao Village, Jilin City, Kouqian Town, Yongji County and other places, but each time it is only fleeting.
From the original Jilin Province, to the later Liaoning Province, and then to the rumored Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, his figure seems to be all over the Northeast. In order to arrest him as soon as possible, the police around the country have increased the reward amount, up to 700,000 yuan.
However, even under the pressure of such a huge reward, Zhu Xianjian was still able to evade the police for 41 days. His cunning and caution make this cat-and-mouse game incredibly difficult and long.
See light at the end of the tunnel
Just when the police were searching for Zhu Xianjian with all their might, but there was no progress, an unexpected clue brought a breakthrough to the case. On November 28, 2021, the Jilin Provincial Public Security Department received a report from a villager.
According to the villager, he found several suspicious cigarette butts in his yard and suspected that someone had once hid there. After hearing this, the police immediately realized that this was likely to be the trace left by Zhu Xianjian.
The police sprang into action, and a crack assault team was dispatched to the location of the report. They carefully surveyed the scene and conducted a carpet search in the vicinity.
In an abandoned pigsty not far from the villager's home, they found more cigarette butts and food scraps. There are all kinds of indications that Zhu Xianjian is very likely to be hiding nearby.
After learning the news, the police immediately mobilized a large number of police forces to cordon off the area within a radius of several kilometers. They divided into several groups, some searched in the mountains and forests, some searched in the villages, and some blocked nearby roads to prevent Zhu Xianjian from escaping.
At the same time, police helicopters were also lifted into the air again to conduct aerial reconnaissance of key areas.
After several hours of searching, the police finally found Zhu Xianjian in a valley. At this time, Zhu Xianjian was already haggard, with a scruffy beard and ragged clothes.
This cunning fugitive did not give in easily, but ran away in an attempt to escape the police again.
The police were prepared and immediately launched a pursuit. Although Zhu Xianjian is agile, he has nowhere to escape under the heavy siege of the police. Seeing that the police were getting closer and closer, Zhu Xianjian suddenly took out a dagger from his arms and waved it at the police.
In desperation, a police officer fired a warning shot, but Zhu Xianjian ignored it and continued to wave his knife at each other. In desperation, the officer had no choice but to shoot again, and the bullet hit Zhu Xianjian in the leg, and he fell to the ground.
After confirming that Zhu Xianjian was no longer able to resist, the police immediately stepped forward to control him. After a simple bandage, Zhu Xianjian was escorted into a police car and taken back to the police station.
At this point, this 41-day escape has finally come to an end. From smuggling into the country to robbing and injuring people, to escaping from prison and absconding, Zhu Xianjian's criminal road can be described as a bad record. And now, he is finally going to pay for what he has done.
In March 2022, Zhu Xianjian's case was heard at the Jilin Provincial High People's Court. In court, the prosecutor listed Zhu Xianjian's crimes one by one, including illegal entry, robbery, intentional injury, prison escape, etc.
The victims also testified in court one after another, telling about their experiences of being hurt by Zhu Xianjian. Faced with such conclusive evidence, Zhu Xianjian lowered his head and confessed to his crimes.
In the end, the court adopted the prosecutor's suggestion and sentenced Zhu Xianjian to life imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for life for several crimes, including robbery, intentional injury, and illegal entry.
Zhu Xianjian said in court that he would obey the verdict and would not appeal. From then on, this fugitive, who once did all kinds of evil, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and spend a long time atoning for his mistakes.
Resources:
1 Huashang Online "Fugitive Zhu Xianjian is suspected of being injured in the leg and captured, escaped from prison and fled for 40 days without leaving the jurisdiction of Jilin City, the language is not understood, the snow is cold, there is nowhere to hide, the police: not busy in vain"
2 Observer.com "The escaped prisoner was caught, suspected of being shot in the leg"