A FORMER customs officer was recently caught by Shenzhen police in Shaanxi Province for alleged corruption after being on the run for 16 years, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

    The former officer with Shekou Customs, identified as Jing, fled to Shaanxi after he was probed for allegedly taking millions of yuan in kickbacks from a businessman in 1994. Jing helped the businessman export garlic without an export license. He escaped from a bathroom while he was being investigated in 2000.

    Jing was detained Oct. 19 after his recent Taobao.com purchase record was noticed by police since he had used his real name to make the purchase.

    Jing is one of 29 fugitives involved in power abuse cases who have surrendered or been detained since a special operation was launched earlier last year, according to Shenzhen Municipal People’s Procuratorate.

    Eleven of these fugitives had escaped overseas and 18 were living in China. One suspect had been at large for 19 years, according to the procuratorate.

    Another suspect, surnamed Zhong, was an official at Shatoujiao entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau. She fled to Canada 11 years ago after allegedly abusing power for personal gains. Zhong was detained July 13 when she returned to Shenzhen with a new identity as a foreign national.

    In another case, a bank manager, surnamed Feng, allegedly embezzled public funds and fled to Anhui Province in 2011. He started a high-tech environmental protection company, which was also ready to go public. Investigators detained Feng at Hefei airport in Anhui, but he was released on bail pending trial considering his company’s operation.

    In 1998, a manager of a securities company, surnamed Sun, allegedly embezzled 5 million yuan (US$719,808) of public funds before running away. An investigation only uncovered a few clues about Sun, including a one-inch black-and-white photo of him. On Sept. 29, police in Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport noticed a man checking in for a flight to Singapore. Although the man’s personal information didn’t match Sun’s, the face recognition system noticed the man’s appearance was nearly a 65 percent match with the black-and-white photo of Sun.

    Investigators detained the man after contacting Sun’s former colleagues, who confirmed the man was Sun. (Zhang Yang, Ni Ke’er)