With the Internet becoming a popular place for people to find new friends and lovers, Shanghai police are warning city residents to be careful when meeting online friends in the real world.

Police in Yangpu District said they recently arrested a local man who robbed and killed another man from Shandong Province he met online during a meeting at a hotel in the city.

The suspect, 22-year-old Wang Rui, is charged with stabbing a man surnamed Zhou to death on August 14 in order to rob him, said Yang Jiong, a spokeswoman for the Yangpu District Public Security Bureau.

"Wang and Zhou got to know each other over the Internet in July as they have a common interest in buying digital products online," said Yang.

Zhou, a 30-year-old businessman, came to the city on August 14 to buy palm pilots for his company. He contacted Wang to set up their first live meeting.

"As the wholesaler Zhou wanted to meet delayed their meeting for a day, Zhou had plenty of time to chat with Wang in the hotel," said Yang.

During their discussion, Zhou talked about his business trip and mentioned that he was carrying a large quantity of cash. That, police said, was when Wang decided to rob his Internet "friend."

"They chatted until night while Zhou couldn't help falling asleep, so Wang hit upon the idea of robbery," said Yang.

Zhou woke up as Wang was stealing his money, however, and began calling for help.

Police said Wang then panicked and used a fruit knife to stab Zhou "scores of times." Police said they managed to catch Wang 10 minutes later.

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