November 7, 2008
Zang Tianshuo has been arrested, police confirmed today. The pop star is suspected to be behind several gang-related crimes that caused at least one fatality, The Beijing News reports.
Zang is one of China’s rock music pioneers and was once a keyboardist for Cui Jian, the “godfather of Chinese Rock music.” Zang’s song Friends is a karaoke standard and was featured in Feng Xiaogang’s comedy Big Shot’s Funeral, which starred Donald Sutherland.
The article says that that Zang has been in police custody since August, but his case was kept confidential until being brought to the media recently. Zang’s assistant confirmed the arrest.
Though the report is sketchy, it does link Zang’s arrest to a gang fight in 2003 in Langfang, Hebei Province, where Zang owns a bar. A man was killed during the fight.
According to a lawyer quoted in the newspaper, Zang could face three years or higher if he is found guilty.
- The Beijing News (Chinese): Zang Tianshuo’s arrest confirmed by his assistant