Huang Tingli, the notorious "king of thieves" in the Northeast and even the whole country, is hiding here because of his one-legged "Yellow Cripple".
He used to be an ordinary farmer, but due to the embarrassment of life and a chance witness, he embarked on a road of no return.
Over the years, he and his team have stolen 36 trains from 17 provinces in China, and at one point numbered more than 150 people.
His name and story roamed every railroad track like a ghost, making countless people talk about it. How did he get to this point? How crazy was his behavior?
Huang Tingli originally lived in a barren farmland, and he lived with his family in a small village in Heilongjiang.
Their house is a typical Northeast farmhouse, built of wood and masonry, and the roof is covered with thick straw.
The furniture was sparse, with only a few necessary pieces of wooden furniture and an old kerosene lamp.
The hardships of life are in stark contrast to the barrenness of the land, and from sunrise to sunset every day, Huang Tingli toils in the fields, hoping to squeeze out a little profit from the dry land.
On one day when he went to the city to sell grain, Huang Tingli drove an ox cart full of rough wheat bags. The hustle and bustle of the city contrasts sharply with the tranquility of the countryside, with streets flanked by bustling markets and shops of all kinds.
Just as he stopped the ox cart and was about to unload it, a sudden event caught his attention.
Not far away, a middle-aged man approached a woman who was picking fruit in front of a fruit stand. The man's movements were swift and hidden, and he swept lightly over the woman's handbag, and within seconds he unnoticedly took out the purse.
The whole process went smoothly and did not attract any attention from others. It wasn't until the man disappeared into the crowd that the woman realized her purse was missing and began to panic.
This scene made Huang Tingli stunned, he had never seen such an easy way to obtain property.
The complexity of the city and the haste of the people provide concealment and opportunities for thieves. Huang Tingli looked at the rough wheat bag on his car and the wallet that suddenly disappeared, and his inner contradictions and struggles reached a peak.
In the following days, Huang Tingli returned to the village and continued his farm work, but the image of the thief easily stealing his property still lingers.
He began to observe the surroundings of the village, and noticed that even in such a remote place, there were occasional outsiders passing by, either to buy souvenirs or to pass by travelers.
On the day he decided to join the ranks of the thieves, Huang Tingli didn't say much, he put down the hoe in his hand in the field, and told his family that he needed to go to the city to do something.
He left the farmland and boarded a bus to the city, filled with imagination of the unknown future.
Once in the city, Wong began wandering around the train station and the busy market area, observing how the experienced thieves operated. He noticed that they used a variety of methods, some relied on speed and suddenness, while others relied more on trickery and deception.
After deciding to become a thief, Huang Tingli quickly adapted to his new "career" at train stations and trains.
He learned how to move stealthily through crowds, identifying those potential "targets" – usually travelers who didn't seem to pay much attention to their personal belongings.
He learned to observe their habits, such as how they placed their handbags, purses, or other items of value, and planned his movements to avoid detection.
Train stations and trains have become his main places of crime, especially during crowded times, such as holidays or the morning and evening rush hours.
He has also become increasingly proficient in his tactics, ranging from simple pickpocketing to using more sophisticated distraction techniques such as pretending to ask for directions or hitting a target to distract them, and then quickly taking their belongings.
In an incident in 1976, Huang Tingli carried out his routine operations on a train bound for Harbin.
On that day, the carriages were unusually crowded, with many people carrying large amounts of luggage, ready to go to their respective destinations. Huang Tingli noticed a seemingly wealthy businessman who apparently had a wallet in his coat pocket.
In a seemingly perfect moment, Huang Tingli approached the businessman and easily pulled his wallet out of his pocket. However, it was this success that made him overconfident and careless.
Just as the train was approaching the station and was about to slow down, Huang Tingli decided to jump out of the train and flee the scene. He thought it would be another clean escape, but he didn't notice that a corner of his clothes was stuck in the crack in the car door.
The moment he jumped, the tightly hooked clothes caused him to jerk backwards, and he lost his balance and fell to the rails.
Unfortunately, the train had not yet come to a complete stop, and one of his legs accidentally reached under the wheel. Under the high-speed rotation of the wheels, his leg was instantly crushed, and the intense pain and bleeding made the scene extremely tragic.
In an emergency, the platform staff and other passengers rushed him off the tracks and immediately rushed him to the nearest hospital.
At the hospital, doctors told Huang that the damage to his leg was too severe and that the only option was amputation. The accident took a huge blow to his life and "career".
After recovering from the hospital, Huang Tingli was forced to walk with crutches, and his nickname "Huang Cripple" began to circulate in the local area. Despite such significant physical and professional challenges, he did not choose to quit the path.
After experiencing a major change in the amputation, Huang Tingli decided not to give up his own path, but to seek a deeper level of skill improvement.
When he heard that Cangzhou Eagle was a skilled thief, he resolutely sought out the legendary man and asked to become his apprentice.
Cangzhou Ying initially had reservations about the disabled student, but seeing his perseverance, he finally agreed to take him as an apprentice.
In the following two years, Huang Tingli learned various advanced theft techniques under the strict guidance of Cangzhou Eagle. This includes not only basic techniques, but also strategic planning, psychological tactics, and escape techniques.
Cangzhou Eagle pays special attention to actual combat drills, and often takes Huang Tingli to go deep into the busy areas of major cities to conduct field training.
In 1979, after rigorous training and practice, Huang Tingli "went out of the mountain", and his skills have far surpassed those of the past. He began to organize his own criminal gangs, recruiting thieves who were skilled or had great potential.
They are mainly active in train stations and trains, as these places are crowded and easy to move.
Huang Tingli carefully chose the target and time of the crime, usually choosing long-distance trains, especially those that run at night, because the cover of night makes the theft more hidden.
They take advantage of travelers' tired sleep to commit shoplifting with light hands. In order to avoid accidents during the operation, Huang Tingli also specially designed a set of signaling systems for team work to ensure rapid evacuation in case of emergency.
The size of the gang gradually expanded, from a few people at the beginning to more than a dozen people, and even more than 150 people. They are not limited to the Heilongjiang region, but also extend their tentacles to the whole country.
According to statistics, Huang Tingli's gang committed crimes on 36 train lines in 17 provinces across the country, with a wide range of activities and superb methods, leaving few traces.
Due to the frequent criminal activities of Huang Tingli's gang, a large amount of economic losses and social unrest have been caused.
Among the victims were businessmen, travelers and even some government officials. Their theft is not limited to money, but also includes valuables such as jewelry, watches, and other high-value items that can be realized.
The reputation of the yellow cripple spread more and more widely in the world of theft, and his name became a role model for many novice thieves, and some people even made a special trip to ask for advice on the art of theft.
Although the police pursued them more and more harshly, they were often able to escape thanks to the efficient organization and careful planning of Wong's team.
In 1979, the spring breeze brought the subtle fragrance of flowers through the streets and alleys of Jinan, but the city was experiencing an unprecedented "wave of theft".
Elite thieves from all over the country gather here, not to discuss big things, but to compete in a unique theft skill competition.
It was the first and only public pickpocketing competition in Chinese history, and the rules of the competition were simple and crude – whoever stole the most was the winner.
It is no coincidence that Jinan was chosen as the venue for the competition, as it is not only Huang Tingli's hometown, but also has convenient transportation and a large number of businessmen, providing an "ideal" environment for the competition.
Although the news of the competition did not spread publicly, it spread in thieves' circles, attracting hundreds of highly skilled thieves across the country.
On the day of the race, there were many more people in the city than usual. Citizens on the streets, villagers rushing to the market, and passengers on the train were all spared, and their pockets, handbags, and even backpacks became the objects of thieves to show their skills.
Contestants use a variety of clever methods, such as posing as beggars, street performers, or ordinary passers-by, to get close to their targets.
As the unofficial organizer of the competition, Huang Tingli is naturally not far behind. He uses his disability as a cover to approach his target as if he needs help.
His movements are swift and precise, making it difficult for even the most alert traveler to detect his movements. In just a few hours, Huang Tingli stole a large number of wallets, watches and jewelry, and his skill was so superb that the other thieves present had to admire it.
As night fell, the race drew to a close. All the contestants will show their "results" of the day.
Huang Tingli's harvest far exceeds that of others, not only is the quantity staggering, but also the value of a single piece is extremely high.
In the end, he won the crown without dispute, earning the title of "the first master of the country".
Although the game was not officially acknowledged and reported, it had a huge impact within the thief circle. Wong's fame and status thus reached its peak, attracting more like-minded thieves to join his team.
Over the next five years, his gang grew rapidly to more than 150 members and committed crimes in busy train stations and business districts in major cities across the country.
This series of actions not only made Huang Tingli's position in the thief world as solid as a rock, but also increased the pressure on the police unprecedentedly.
They must confront a well-organized, sophisticated and numerous criminal syndicate. Huang Tingli and his gang wandered from city to city like ghosts, leaving the eyes of all defenses weak and pale.
In March 1984, spring in Harbin was still bitterly cold, but that didn't stop the local police and militia from organizing an elaborate raid.
The operation targeted Mr. Wong's criminal gang, which has garnered widespread attention across the country and has long been a top target of the police because of its frequency and sophistication.
The raid was chosen to take place late at night in order to achieve suddenness and maximum effect. After thoroughly investigating the patterns of activity and possible hiding places of the Wong Dinh Lee gang, the police and militia carried out raids on multiple locations at the same time.
They quietly surrounded several suspected hideouts on the outskirts of the city, including abandoned warehouses and old residential areas.
On that snowy night, dozens of policemen and militiamen, armed with flashlights and weapons, quietly approached the target location. They quickly and decisively broke down the door and succeeded in arresting several members of Wong's gang.
Most of the arrested thieves were awakened in their sleep, unable to put up effective resistance, and were quickly handcuffed and taken away from the scene.
Despite the scale and preparation of the operation, Huang Tingli himself narrowly escaped. He left one of the dens shortly before the operation began, evading the police's search net.
Wong's escape was extremely frustrating to the police, but they did not give up and immediately intensified their pursuit of him.
The manhunt lasted more than two years, during which Mr. Wong had been in hiding and the police had nearly captured him several times.
Eventually, one night in September 1986, Huang Tingli was arrested by the police in a small hotel in Harbin.
He appeared unusually tired at the time of his arrest and put up little resistance. At this time, Huang Tingli was extremely tired, and his health and mental state were greatly worse than before after a long period of hiding and fleeing.
After his arrest, Huang Tingli was quickly sent to the Intermediate People's Court for trial. Taking into account his criminal history and impact on society, the court decided to impose capital punishment on him after the trial.
At trial, Mr. Wong was charged with multiple counts of theft, including a series of high-profile thefts on trains and train stations in several provinces across the country.
In September 1986, the court finally sentenced Huang Tingli to death, which was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China that a criminal was sentenced to death for theft.
People's Public Security,1994(7):24-27