4 nabbed for kidnapping businessman
Police in Yibin, Sichuan province, arrested four suspects who they say demanded a ransom of 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) in the abduction of a businessman.
The kidnappers also "forced him to kill a female masseuse and filmed the killing with the intention of using the video to coerce him to pay", said an official in the city government with knowledge of the case who asked not to be named.
About half a year ago, the authorities allege, Liu Qiang, a 39-year-old from Boxi township in Yibin who had lost money in his business, started plotting with two men and a woman to kidnap Zhang Yingqi, 53, the legal representative of the Yibin Yili Group, whose business ventures included chemical products, hydroelectric resources and real estate development.
