BEIJING, Aug. 18 -- It has been confirmed that four Chinese citizens robbed by armed bandits last Monday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia were not kidnapped, but set free immediately after the robbery.

    Previous media reports said the four had been kidnapped by armed Russians.

    Russian police kept Chinese authorities up to speed with the latest developments at a briefing to the Chinese Consulate-General in Khabarovsk yesterday morning.

    Police confirmed that it was a planned armed robbery.

    The robbers stopped the Chinese workers who were driving a lorry in a remote village called White Birch near Komsomolsk-on-Amur, about 500 kilometres east of Khabarovsk.

    The robbers threatened their victims with hunting rifles and forced them to drive the lorry back to where the Chinese workers' were staying.

    They then ransacked the house and plundered cash worth US$7,500.

    Having taken the money, the robbers immediately made off without harming their Chinese victims.

    The Russian police named the four Chinese citizens as Yu Hanzhong, Wang Ju, Li Wengang and Zhang Dehu, all aged 22 to 45. They all worked for a local timber mill and had legally entered Russia.

    The case has drawn close attention from the Russian authorities and Khabarovsk District's chief of police has arrived at Komsomolsk-on-Amur to command the tracking operation.

    The Chinese consulate has warned its citizens in Russia's Far East not to go to remote areas where they are vulnerable to criminals.

    The Chinese consulate has urged the Russian police to solve the case as soon as possible and take effective measures to protect the safety of Chinese citizens in Russia.

    The consulate has failed to contact the four compatriots so far due to communication difficulties in the area.

    (Source: China Daily)