Gambling official arrested

A government official who fled his post after losing US$423,000 in public funds and borrowed money at a casino in North Korea was arrested by Chinese police, state media reported. Cai Haowen has been the subject of a high-profile manhunt since he disappeared in late 2004 after an 11-month gambling binge at the Hong Kong-built Emperor Hotel and Casino in a North Korean free trade zone. The casino, built across the river from China's Jiling province, has since been closed down. Xinhua said Cai was arrested on a train between Beijing and Changchun, the capital of the northeastern province of Jilin. Before fleeing his post, Cai was a transportation official in China's Yanbian region bordering North Korea.