China increases bounty for deadly armed robber

(CNN) -- At least nine Chinese provinces, including Hunan, Chongqing, Jiangsu and Anhui have joined the hunt for a killer they believe responsible for a spate of armed robberies across the country.

The suspect allegedly shot and killed a man who had just withdrawn 200,000 yuan ($31,700) from a bank in Nanjing's Dongmen Street on January 6 and then fled the scene in a car, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The provinces have offered a total sum of more than 3 million yuan for information leading to the killer's arrest, after the Ministry of Public Security declared the case a national top priority.

Authorities believe the suspect -- a man in his early 40s from Sichuan province called Zeng Kaigui -- is also responsible for shooting dead six others in six robberies over the past seven years.

Nanjing Public Security Bureau's Xuanwu district office told CNN that more than 80,000 police have joined the manhunt, and said they have renewed their efforts to capture the suspect by releasing three new pictures of him from surveillance video.

Two previous video clips of him escaping the scene have also been published online.

Police said Zeng is of medium build and wears black outfits during the robbery.

Nanjing authorities have posted Zeng's profile picture in public places like subway stations and Internet cafes, and have handed them out to taxi and bus drivers throughout the city.

Many big screens in the downtown area are also showing the suspect's video clips hourly with police warnings to citizens.

CNN's Shao Tian contributed to this report.

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