Fans poke fun at fugitives collared at Cheung's concerts

Hong Kong pop icon Jacky Cheung is being called "fugitive trapper", because five suspects on the run have been arrested at his concerts by Chinese policemen within the past two months. (Photo provided to China Daily)

Hong Kong pop icon Jacky Cheung, who is acclaimed as the "King of Pop" thanks to his long career in showbiz, has now got a new title.

He is being called "fugitive trapper", because five suspects on the run have been arrested at his concerts by Chinese policemen within the past two months.

On June 9, two suspects were arrested at his concert in Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

One of the suspects, surnamed Ma, 49, was arrested on a charge of stealing in Shanghai. He was caught by policemen before the concert started.

Another suspect, surnamed Zheng, who was also caught there was wanted by the Fujian police for forgery.

Speaking about the arrests, Cheung, who began his career in 1984, says: "They would be caught by the police anyway. It could be anywhere, like a supermarket or a concert. But I feel grateful that they came to my concerts. We all need music."

Meanwhile, some fans joked about this online saying that the police should give Cheung an award for helping them catch suspects, while others rewrote Cheung's popular hits with lyrics talking about fugitives at his concerts.

One of Cheung's most popular songs, titled Net of Love, was modified by fans into Net of Justice.

Separately, a report in the Chinese media says that the police are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to catch criminals and the five suspects were identified thanks to facial recognition technology.

As for the other arrests, a 31-year-old man was arrested on April 7 at Cheung's show in Nanchang, in Jiangxi province, for economic crimes. And, on May 5 and May 20, two suspects were arrested at Cheung's concerts in Zhangzhou, in Fujian province and in Jiaxing, in Zhejiang province.

In another development, the police in Luoyang, in Henan province, where Cheung plans to hold a concert on July 8, have written on their Sina Weibo account to say: "Jacky Cheung, we are ready!" responding to the reports of the arrests at other venues.

Cheung, 55, who is known as one of Hong Kong's "Four Heavenly Kings", is currently touring various cities in China as part of his A Classic Tour, which started in October 2016.

One of the best-selling singers of all time in Asia, Cheung has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, and has also appeared in dozens of films that have been well received both by audiences and critics.

According to Universal Music, Cheung has so far done 147 shows as part of the A Classic Tour schedule, which betters the Jacky Cheung 1/2 Century Tour, which had 146 shows.

And more than 3 million people have attended shows on this tour, which has covered more than 70 Chinese cities.