Human rights activist Jin Zhongqi has committed suicide after being on the run from police for allegedly killing two people at a Beijing bus station last Monday, according to a state paper report.
Jinghua News, an outlet under Communist Party paper People’s Daily, said Jin Zhongqi was found on Sunday night after he committed suicide. No other details were given. The information came from “sources close to police” and from “multiple channels”.
Jin has been wanted by police since Tuesday. A wanted person notice was issued by authorities with a RMB50,000 (HK$58,000) reward following an incident at a bus station in the Haidian district of Beijing that left two people dead and one wounded.
Witnesses said that the fight broke out on the bus because of a “toe-stepping” incident, according to The Paper. After the group got off the bus, the perpetrator stabbed one of the victims with a knife and injured another who was trying to mediate.
Sources cited by US-backed Radio Free Asia said that the people attacked by Jin may have been state security officers, but there is no mention of their identities in Chinese media.
Records of a Weibo account attributed to Jin shows him claiming to be bothered by police before the incident. The account was accessed by HKFP on Thursday, but it can no longer be found. A post from last Saturday showed him saying that he was being monitored by security officers pretending to be a couple.
Jin is a member of the Hui minority. According to Chinese media, he has a criminal record and was previously sentenced to 12 years in jail. He is a rights activist for the Hui minority in China and has long been under police watch, according to RFA and other activists.
