Does the convention to paraphrase a word in an article exist in Mandarin?

Question

In an article over 人民网:

据日本TBS电视台报道,这名女大学生就读于东京都内某大学4年级,涉嫌违反野生动物保护法被逮。泰国警察介绍，这名日本女大学生当天打算搭乘返回成田机场的航班，被机场工作人员发现在行李中藏匿了10只水獭。

被捕女大学生交代“水獭是在曼谷市场附近地摊购买，打算当特产送给朋友。自己是第一次来泰国旅行，并不清楚不能带水獭”。 由于这名日本女嫌疑人的护照是10月25日刚发行，泰国警方目前怀疑这是一起有组织的走私水獭案。

In the first paragraph, the author uses 被逮 while in the second paragraph, the author uses 被捕. I understand that both mean 逮捕 in a passive form.

However, why does the author write it differently between these two paragraphs? In English, it is generally considered a good writing style to paraphrase a word in later sentences, but does that kind of convention exist in Mandarin as well?

Otherwise, what is the reason the author uses different words to mean the same thing in an article?

Answer 1

1. I suppose 被逮 in 这名女大学生...被逮。 is a typo, for the meaning of arrest it should be 这名女大学生...被逮捕。. And 被捕 could be used too, i.e. 这名女大学生...被捕。

2. In 被捕女大学生, 被捕 is used for qualifying the noun 女大学生. 被逮捕 could be used too as 被逮捕的女大学生.

then

does that kind of convention exist in Mandarin as well?

I'll say yes, if for same context. But for this case, the application scenarios are different. e.g. In the 2nd case, it's quite reasonable to use 被捕 instead of 被逮捕的 for the conciseness.

Answer 2

被逮 could be considered as a short version of 被逮住， meaning 被抓住; be caught; For example, 我被老师逮（住）了， 我考试作弊被逮了(I was caught for cheating in the exam), 他被逮了个正着(meaning he was just caught while he was doing something bad).

However, 被逮 usually is not that formal as 被逮捕 or 被捕. It's not a good idea to use it in a serious/formal writing, like in a report.

Chinese writing does apply that convention OP mentioned, avoiding the same word being used multiple times.

So, if I were the writer for that article, I would put ... 涉嫌违反野生动物保护法被逮捕, ... 被捕女大学生交代...