Stories
Chinese Fugitive Evades Police for 19 Years by Posing as Dead Twin Brother
M
Moneycontrol•16-10-2026, 14:22
Chinese Fugitive Evades Police for 19 Years by Posing as Dead Twin Brother
- •A Chinese man surnamed Chen evaded police for 19 years after participating in a 2002 robbery by assuming the identity of his deceased twin brother.
- •The case was originally closed in 2007 after authorities were informed that Chen had died in a traffic accident in Anhui province.
- •Investigators reopened the cold case during a routine review and noticed discrepancies in old identification photographs and name change records.
- •The elaborate deception finally unravelled after the late brother's former girlfriend confirmed to investigators that the older twin was the one who died in the crash.
- •Police arrested Chen in June, and he now faces a potential prison sentence of three to 10 years for his involvement in the robbery.
Key Questions Answered
A man surnamed Chen evaded police for nearly two decades by assuming the identity of his deceased twin brother after the brother died in a traffic accident in 2007.
Investigators reopened a cold 2002 robbery case during a routine review and noticed discrepancies in old ID photos, which showed that the man registered as dead had applied for a name change and submitted a new photo shortly after the accident.
After family members and official records maintained that the younger twin had died, police approached Deng, the former girlfriend of the older twin, who confirmed that the person killed in the road accident was actually the older brother rather than the fugitive.
