Police arrest eight in factory arson plot

Shanghai police have arrested eight suspects involved in setting fire to an electronic component factory in Fengxian district at the end of last year, local media reported Wednesday.

The investigation into the case led police to several other crimes that they suspect were perpetrated by the owner of an electronic component manufacturer who tried driving his competitors out of the business with violence and intimidation.

The fire in rural Fengxian district consumed part of the factory and two of its vehicles, costing the company 200,000 yuan ($32,180) in damages, according to a report in the Shanghai Evening Post.

Although investigators suspected the fire might have be en arson, there wasn't enough evidence to lead them to a suspect, the report said.

On January 17, a suspicious person was spotted sneaking around inside the factory. Police arrived to find the prowler had fled, leaving behind several bottles filled with fuel. An employee told police that the company had recently received an anonymous call from a man who warned it to shut down before something bad happened, according to the report.

Police soon began to look into a man surnamed Zhu, the owner of a competing electronic component maker in Minhang district. They investigated Zhu's company, looking for an employee who matched the description of the suspected factory arsonist. They didn't find anyone. However, their search led them to an employee surnamed Li, who was from Zhu's hometown in Henan Province.

Police found Li suspicious because although he was employed at Zhu's company, he didn't seem to have any specific duties, the report said. When they looked into Li's past, they discovered he had returned to his hometown frequently before the factory fire. With the help of Henan police, they identified and arrested three suspects, including a man surnamed Chen, whom they accused of setting the fire.

Further investigation revealed that Zhu and Li had hired other people to rough up employees of competing electronic component makers in Songjiang and Minhang districts, the report said. The companies were all owned by people who used to work for Zhu.

Police said Zhu decided to try to force the competing companies to shut down after his company began to suffer from a decline in business in February 2012, the report said.

The case remains under investigation.