Academician kidnapped for 13 hours in Inner Mongolia
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-21 13:51

An academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Inner Mongolia was kidnapped for 13 hours before local police rescued him early Wednesday.

Prof. Xu Rigan, president of Inner Mongolia University in north China, was abducted by four kidnappers at around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. He was almost home and his daughter witnessed the professor being pushed into a white minivan. She took note of the number plate as the vehicle drove away.

The regional public security department mobilized 3,500 policeman to chase the kidnappers, who called a vice-president of the university at 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, asking for 5 million yuan (620,000 US dollars) of ransom.

Two of the suspects were seized by police in an hour, when they went to collect the ransom in the suburbs of the regional capital Hohhot.

At 7:10 a.m. Wednesday, police intercepted the white minivan on a country road and saved the professor.

Investigators say the case was masterminded by Fan Zheng, 38, and his younger brother Fan Zhengping. They ploted the kidnap in October 2004. The two conspirators were Mi Qianglong, a local rickshaw driver, and Guo Xi, a vendor.