China: Man kills five in revenge attack over failed investment

Five people killed after a man drove his car at high speed into a crowd of pedestrians in the city of Dalian in northeast China, as he was upset because of a failed investment and wanted to "take revenge on society".

Citing police South China Morning Post reported that a suspect, identified as Liu, 32, has been detained. He is reported to have said that he was upset because of a failed investment and wanted to "take revenge on society".

The incident took place at 11.40am (local time) on Saturday in a downtown area of the city. Footage caught on CCTV and mobile phones showed a black sedan car accelerating into a group of people as they were using a pedestrian crossing.

According to a police statement, Liu, who works as a hairdresser, jumped a red light and accelerated to 108km/h (67mph) in just seven seconds before crashing into the pedestrians.Four people died at the scene and a fifth died later in hospital. Five other people were injured in the incident, police said.

Qu Bo, Dalian's deputy police chief, said on Sunday that the suspect had been detained on a charge of "endangering public security". If found guilty, he could face the death penalty. "The suspect was unable to accept his personal investment failure and lost confidence in life, so he took revenge on society," Qu said, without elaborating on the nature of the failed investment.

After ploughing through the pedestrians, Liu fled the scene in his car before colliding with a van at an intersection. He then abandoned the vehicle and tried to escape on foot but was caught by police at about 1pm (local time), SCMP reported.

It further reported that road rage incidents are not uncommon in China. In July last year, a 52-year-old bus driver deliberately drove his vehicle off the road into a reservoir in southern China, killing himself and 20 passengers.

It was reported that he wanted to take revenge on society after his home in Anshun, Guizhou province, had been demolished by the government.

In October 2019, five people were killed and nine injured in Shanghai, when the driver of a car ran a red light while trying to flee a minor traffic offence.

The 63-year-old was detained on a charge of "endangering public security". He stood trial a year later but has yet to be sentenced, reported SCMP.

( With inputs from ANI )

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