HANGZHOU - In addition to going directly to a police station, fugitive suspects can also log onto a police website and submit an application for surrender.

Police in the city of Taizhou, Zhejiang province, have received 278 such applications since their "online police bureau" opened six months ago, Chen Bo'en, secretary of the bureau's discipline inspection commission, said Monday.

The applications will be accepted within 24 hours and can be used as evidence of the suspects' intention to surrender in case they are apprehended on their way to turn themselves in to the police, Chen said.

Under Chinese law, suspects who turn themselves in may face lighter punishments.

Taizhou's "online police bureau" was launched in June following China's nationwide campaign that kicked off in late May to arrest fugitive suspects.

The six-month nationwide campaign, which ended on Thursday, has seen the arrests of 12,000 fugitive homicide suspects. Altogether, 23,000 fugitives whose whereabouts had been unknown to police for at least 10 years were arrested.

Police also apprehended 190 criminals on China's "most wanted" list, including Ji Siguang, a fugitive-turned-TV actor famous for his role as an intelligence agent in the Chinese TV hit "Lurk."

Despite these achievements, 21 police officers died and another 495 were injured in the campaign. Some died of heart attacks, cerebral infarctions or in traffic accidents on their way to chase criminals, while others died in the fight against fugitives.

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