Thief confident he could outrun police, but was caught even after stripping naked and running in his underwear

　　Based on the suspect’s past escape experiences, he could typically create a gap of over 3 minutes with his pursuers and shake them off entirely within about 5 minutes.

　　Exceptionally Capable Police

　　Chasing him at that moment was a participant who ranked 21st in the 3-kilometer armed cross-country race during the provincial police competition and also came in second place in the cross-country running event organized by the Guangyuan City police system.

　　A habitual thief, confident in his running stamina and speed due to frequent getaways, even taunted the pursuing officers with smug defiance, “Come on, chase me then!” But this time, he unfortunately encountered the runner-up in Guangyuan City’s police loaded cross-country race. Even when he resorted to running naked out of desperation, the suspect was ultimately apprehended. This “cat-and-mouse chase” took place in Wangcang County, Guangyuan City.

　　On November 6th, at a market near the foot of Nanyang Mountain in Wangcang County, a man shouted, “Catch the thief, don’t let him get away!” as he chased a man in a gray shirt up ahead—but the distance between them quickly widened. The gray-shirted man had been sprinting hard when he suddenly slowed down, turned his head to glance back, then ran in the opposite direction toward his pursuer and threw a punch. With a smirk on his face, he boasted, “You still chasing me? Think you can outrun me?”

　　It turned out that the pursued gray-shirted man, Lu Mou, was a habitual thief, while the man he hit, Mr. Li, used to be his friend. During a visit, Lu stole 13,000 yuan in cash that Mr. Li had stored at home. Since then, Mr. Li had been tirelessly searching for Lu, finally spotting him at the market that day, which led to the chase.

　　After a few punches, Mr. Li felt dizzy and stopped to call 110. “This thief is so arrogant—he runs fast, and then he turns around to hit people.” Upon receiving the report, Officers Sun Yu and Zhao Keyu from Donghe Police Station in Wangcang County rushed to the scene. They saw a middle-aged man clutching his forehead, voice hoarse, stumbling uphill toward Nanyang Mountain while shouting, “Catch the thief, catch the thief!” Following the direction of his pursuit, about 1 kilometer away, a gray figure could be seen in the distance.

　　Taunting the Police

　　Nanyang Mountain has sparse population and residents live far apart. Even if bystanders heard the shouts for help, they could only watch from afar. The path Lu chose to flee along was a winding mountain trail leading to the summit—too rugged for police vehicles to follow. The two officers got out of the car. Officer Sun Yu attended to the injured Mr. Li, bandaging his wound, while Officer Zhao Keyu pursued Lu.

　　By then, the suspect was already 1 kilometer away. Zhao Keyu saw Lu on the slope not hurrying to flee but instead shouting loudly toward him. Officer Zhao couldn’t make out what Lu was saying, so he called back loudly, “What did you say?” Lu jumped up and shouted again. This time, Zhao Keyu heard clearly: “You can’t even drive, huh? Heh, so you’re chasing me on foot? Come on, chase me then!”

　　Zhao Keyu was inwardly surprised: “Hey, this is straight-up taunting.” Hearing this, Zhao didn’t respond further, instead fixing his gaze intently on Lu and silently began to sprint after him. Lu laughed and glanced back as he slowly made his way up the mountain.

　　According to Lu’s past experience, he could usually open up a lead of over 3 minutes and lose his pursuers within about 5 minutes. But this chase took an unexpected turn.

　　After running for about four or five minutes, Lu looked back to see the officer in full police gear still right behind him. After seven or eight minutes, when he turned his head again, the gap had narrowed significantly. Lu began to panic, no longer daring to frequently glance back or taunt his pursuer, and instead focused solely on fleeing.

　　What Lu didn’t know was that the officer chasing him was the same one who ranked 21st in the province’s 3-kilometer armed cross-country race (carrying 25 pounds of gear) and also came in second in the Guangyuan City police cross-country competition, with a time of 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

　　After about 20 minutes of pursuit, Lu felt he was starting to struggle; his legs began to shake. But seeing that the officer showed no signs of giving up, he had no choice but to keep running desperately. When they reached the summit of Nanyang Mountain, the man’s pace slowed, but Officer Zhao picked up his speed. Gradually, the distance between them grew shorter.

　　At that moment, Lu suddenly changed his escape tactic and darted into a nearby thorny path. He felt his clothes and pants being snagged and tugged by branches, then pulled off bit by bit. His attitude shifted from arrogant taunting to complete breakdown. He swung one arm while using the other to hold up his pants and fled forward with all his might.

　　But just then, a thorny branch caught his leg. When he turned his head, he saw that the persistent officer was now just inches away. With almost no one else around on the mountain and too ashamed to care, Lu let the thorn pull off his pants and simply stripped down to his shirt, proceeding to “run naked.”

　　Even so, he was a split second too late. Within just over ten seconds, Officer Zhao Keyu seized the opportunity, lunged forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and pinned him with his arms behind his back. By then, Lu was utterly exhausted and collapsed to the ground without a sound.

　　Back at the police station, Lu quickly confessed to the crime and admitted to stealing the 13,000 yuan in cash that the victim had stored at home. According to his own statement, having committed theft before and based on prior chase experiences, Lu had great confidence in his running stamina and speed. “I thought as long as the police didn’t drive, I could definitely get away.” Currently, Lu has been criminally detained by the police. Reported by Wu Xinghua and Liang Liang.