{
  "id": 15172847,
  "title": "Fugitive living as his dead twin for 19 years exposed by twin's ex",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/fugitive-living-as-his-dead-twin-for-19-years-exposed-by-twins-ex",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/crime/fugitive-living-as-his-dead-twin-for-19-years-exposed-by-twin-s-ex-5133267.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A fugitive who had lived as his deceased twin brother for 19 years was apprehended in Zhuhai, China, on June 4. Chen Er, as he was known, was one of seven suspects involved in an abduction that occurred in Yuhuan, Zhejiang Province, in September 2002. The other six accomplices were apprehended, but Chen managed to flee, evading capture for years. In 2007, police in Yuhuan received a notification that Chen had died in a traffic accident and that his identity had been removed from the official records. This led to an extensive search, which came to a halt when they were unable to obtain crucial documents. In April, a tip came to light from an individual who claimed to be living under his late twin brother's identity. Long Yuwen, a criminal investigator, reviewed the 2002 case file and discovered a remarkable resemblance between the alleged deceased twin and Chen Er, along with matching family ties. A task force was subsequently established to reopen the investigation. The twins were strikingly similar, even down to their archived ID photos, which were taken before 2007. However, a discrepancy was noted in the name change filed nine days after Chen's registration as dead. Police soon found Deng, Chen Er's former girlfriend, residing in Hefei, Anhui's capital. Upon questioning her, Deng revealed that she had been in a relationship with the older twin before the accident. She explained that they had planned to marry, but the relationship ended shortly after the crash, and they have not spoken since. Further inquiries revealed that Chen Er had orchestrated the entire scheme. He had crashed his car deliberately while on his way home from picking up a passenger in Nanjing, leading to the deaths of two people and injuries to three others. Police recovered evidence from the accident scene and corroborating statements from the injured, all of which confirmed that Chen Er was the one who had lost his life. Chen had exploited his twin brother's resemblance to his advantage, replacing his own driver's license with the deceased twin's, thereby assuming his identity. Following Chen's apprehension, biological samples from him matched those collected from the 2002 case. Yuhuan police have concluded their investigation and turned the case over to prosecutors for further review to determine if charges should be filed. Chen faces a potential sentence of three to ten years in prison under China's Criminal Law. An online commenter suggested that Chen's ex-girlfriend suffered the most significant loss, while another questioned whether Chen's mother and sister might also be guilty of harboring a fugitive.",
  "summary": "A fugitive wanted over a 2002 kidnapping and robbery in eastern China lived for nearly 19 years as his dead twin brother, until the brother's former girlfriend told police who had really died in a 2007 car crash.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}