Police said Zhang Bing, who hails from Jiangxi Province, robbed a young woman around midnight on April 7 with his accomplice, Chen Xing.

Chen was arrested shortly after Zhang.

A vocational school student surnamed Chen reported to the police that two men armed with knives robbed her of backpack and mobile phone late at night on April 7.

Police canvassed the area with a description of the two suspects, and employees of a match-making agency said a man fitting one of the descriptions signed up with the service to get a date. The employees said he asked specifically for women with long hair, and he filled out several forms saying his name was Zhang and he worked for a hotel.

The hotel in question had never heard of the man, however.

The agency told police Zhang was to meet a women at a park gate on April 15, where they arrested him. He was carrying a mobile phone similar to the one stolen from the student.

Zhang claimed his innocence, and the victim was unable to pick him out of a line-up. But police continued to question him about the phone.

Zhang allegedly said he bought the phone from a stranger for 200 yuan (US$25) at a bus station, but police were able to prove that was a lie.

Zhang allegedly later confessed he was in bad need of a mobile phone while Chen was short of money, so they turned to crime to solve their problems.