A fugitive involved in the killing of a man 17 years ago has finally been arrested and sentenced to 11 years behind bars, according to Qingpu District People’s Court.

The murder occurred at 7pm on October 5, 2001, when the fugitive surnamed Lu, then aged 20, and four others, were paid by a group of seven to “take revenge" on their "business rival," a mansurnamed Zhang.

They rushed to Zhang’s apartment in Qingpu, where Zhang’s two friends were also present. Using iron pipes, they beat the three to the head, causing Zhang to die of severe brain injuries and the two others to suffer fractures, the court said.

Two were caught and jailed, but Lu somehow escaped capture. His whereabouts finally came to light on January 25, 2017, when Qingpu prosecutor Chen Bin was tipped off by a detainee surnamed Wang.

Part of Chen's work involved visiting the district's detention house and talking with detainees. Wangasked him whether it was possible to receive a reduced sentence by becoming awhistleblower.

“I immediately realizedthat he knew something that we had all missed,” Chen said.

Wang said in recent years, he met Lu several times in their hometown of Baogai Town in Fujian Province. Lu told him about the killing 17 years ago, and admitted he was one of the culprits.

Based on clues given by Wang, police caught Lu one month later. He has been jailed 11 years for intentional injury and has not made an appeal, the court said.

“I thought that it was such an old case that no one cared about it anymore,” Lu said after being caught.