Chinese man who killed 13 admits to crimes: report

BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Serial killer Cheng Ruilong, who had been accused of killing 13 people in 10 kidnappings and armed robberies in China, has confessed to his crimes during his trial.

The court hearing for nine of his murders, in which three police officers were killed, opened Thursday in Foshan city, southern China's Guangdong Province, a China Daily report said on Friday.

"I know I won't be forgiven even if I die tens of times," the 37-year-old was quoted as saying at the court hearing. He had been on the most-wanted list by the Ministry of Public Security for 13 years.

Cheng was accused of murder, rape and robbery in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Chongqing Municipality and the provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang and Jiangxi between 1996 and 2005, according to the Foshan city procuratorate.

Cheng, a native of Lianzhou in Guangdong, confessed to murders, rape and robbery at Foshan Intermediate People's Court Thursday.

Cheng did not hire a lawyer, but the Foshan court appointed a lawyer for him during Thursday's hearing, the newspaper said. The trial will continue Friday.

The court had refused Cheng's demand for a mental test, saying his family has no history of mental disease and he did not show any symptoms of mental problems after being arrested in 2005.

In one typical case, Cheng killed three members of a family and then stole 80,000 yuan (11,800 U.S. dollars) from them in Zhuzhou of Hunan province in 1997.