Local police announced on Thursday they have adopted criminal coercive measures toward 55-year-old Hangzhou local Xu, who was suspected of killing his wife that had gone missing for almost 20 days.

The photo shows the building where Lai, a woman reported missing on July 6, lives in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. (Photo: Chinanews.com)

The wife, 53-year-old Lai, was reported missing on July 6 and was believed to had been killed by Xu, the Hangzhou police said in a notice. She works as a cleaner at a local accounting firm.

Lai's mysterious and bizarre disappearance has gone viral on the internet for about a week, as surveillance cameras around her residence have provided no clues of her whereabouts, causing heated debates on the web and discussion of the details of the case, as netizens ponder what might had happened.

Xu, an army veteran, reported to the police 36 hours after he "found about his wife's disappearance", and has displayed "an extreme calm" in TV interviews on the subject.

On Friday, several relatives of Lai, choked with tears, were found around the septic tank of her residence, and evidence was reportedly found by the local police.

The police had previously launched a thorough search of the community's sewage and piping system, underground parking lots and balconies, and those of their neighbors as well.

Hangzhou police said they are still working on the case, and will inform the public about the details "in the near term".