China Local News
Police Notification: Fatal Stabbing in Kunshan Road-Rage Incident Ruled Self-Defense
The Kunshan road-rage incident is the biggest topic on Chinese social media this week. Police now state that the cyclist who killed his attacker is acquitted, ruling the controversial stabbing as ‘self-defense.’
According to a police statement released on Saturday afternoon, September 1st, the bike rider who fatally stabbed the BMW driver who attacked him has handled out of self-defense. (We reported about this case earlier this week here).
The statement was published on the official Weibo account of the Kunshan police (@昆山公安), and received over 77,000 shares within an hour.
On Weibo, netizens are happy about the news; the majority of people sided with the cyclist, a 41-year-old hotel worker by the name of Yu Haiming (于海明). Some people even organized crowd-funding campaigns to help pay for his legal costs, and the past week has seen a flood of memes about the incident in support of the cyclist.
Bizarre Road-Rage Incident
The incident occurred on the night of August 27, when a BMW vehicle in Kunshan, Jiangsu, turned into a bike line, colliding with the cyclist who refused to give way. Two men then stepped out of their BMW vehicle to confront the cyclist, with one man going back to his vehicle, suddenly pulling out a long knife.
Surveillance videos [YouTube link] capture the moment, which show how the muscular and tattooed BMW driver attacks Yu with the big knife – but then suddenly loses grip and drops the knife on the ground.
Bike driver (white shirt) is attacked by the BMW driver with a knife.
That is the pivotal moment when Yu quickly grabs the knife and starts attacking the BMW driver. Various videos show how the bike driver runs after the man, hitting and stabbing him with the knife at least five or six times – eventually killing him.
The bike driver hits the BMW driver with the knife for the fifth time.
The BMW driver turned out to be the somewhat notorious Liu Hailong (刘海龙) aka ‘Brother Long’ (龙哥) a 36-year-old ex-convict who previously spent years in prison for robbery, theft, and another knifing incident.
Liu Hailong aka ‘Brother Long’
He had been drinking the night of the incident.
“Brother Long Terminator”
The topic was a trending topic on Chinese social media all week, which a main question being: To what degree is self-defence legitimate?
One of the cartoons that has been published on this incident past week.
Some lawyers quoted in various news articles (read our report here) alleged that Yu might be held responsible for intentional injury and death, since the video footage showed that Liu tried to get away once Yu came after him with the knife – making the stabbing incident one of attack instead of defense.
The fact that Yu stabbed his attacker many times (the video shows at least six instances) was also considered to go beyond self-defense, making it possible for him to face up to ten years in prison.
But as more information about the case emerged, most netizens concluded that ex-con ‘Brother Long’ had deserved his own death.
The 41-year-old Yu, who is known as a hard-working man with no criminal records, was even called the “Brother Long Terminator” by some, who compared the incident to a video game in which the main character defeats his enemy with his own knives.
Detailed Report Rules Legitimate Self-Defense
According to the police statement that was issued today, in the first moments of the violent stabbing, cyclist Yu was stabbed in the neck, waist, and leg by Liu. Once Yu succeeded in grabbing the machete, he stabbed Liu Hailong in the abdomen, buttocks, right chest, left shoulder, and left elbow.
The moment Yu has grabbed the knife and attacks Liu, stabbing him five times in seven seconds.
The BMW driver then flees the scene and falls into a grass field some 30 meters away from the car. (This image on YouTube shows Liu in the grass with severe injuries- viewer discretion is advised). Meanwhile, Yu has stopped his pursuit and turns to the BMW vehicle to take out Liu’s mobile phone, out of fear that Liu or others might call other people for reinforcement in the attack.
When police arrived at the scene, Yu immediately handed them over the mobile phone and the weapon, which has since been identified as a sharp-edged double-sided blade with a total length of 59 cm.
Liu Hailong was soon taken to the hospital but died that same night. Yu did not sustain any life-threatening injuries.
Forensic researchers have now found that in the first seven seconds in which Yu stabbed Liu with the knife he grabbed from the ground, he stabbed him a total of five times, of which the first stab might have been the most lethal one; stabbing him in the left abdomen, causing the large abdominal vein to rupture. The fact that the first strike allegedly was the lethal one might have also helped in the self-defense ruling.
“The behavior of Yu Haiming is [ruled as] legitimate defense and he does not bear criminal responsibility,” the police notifiation states, in accordance with Article 20 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China that defines self-defense.
The statement also says that Yu’s personal safety was “seriously endangered” when Liu Hailong first attacked him with his bare hands, and then continued to hit him with a knife. It suggests that throughout the incident, Yu was constantly in danger – even when he had the knife – thereby denying any claims that Yu’s actions were excessive and illegal.
The police report further reveals that BMW driver Liu was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 87mg/100ml (0.087).
The night of the incident, there were three other passengers in the BMW car. One of them, the male passenger who can be seen first getting out of the car in the video, gets a ten-day prison sentence for his involvement in the incident. The two other passengers, both female, have been acquitted.
Besides being happy about the ruling, many netizens also praise the Kunshan police for their work. “I’ve never seen such a detailed police report, thumbs up for Kunshan police!”, some commenters write.
image via 野望文存-财经
“It’s a good thing we have surveillance cameras nowadays,” another person says: “Ten years ago, he might have been held responsible.”
Others write: “Wonderful news, justice has prevailed! This restores some faith among the common people.”
By Manya Koetse and Miranda Barnes
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©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Local News
World’s Largest Terminal: Spectacular Photos of Beijing’s New Airport
The city’s new international airport will be the biggest one in the world.
Beijing’s new airport, that is expected to open in fall of 2019, is attracting some attention on Chinese social media lately as construction work on the major airport is speeding up.
A 7,200 tons and 404.5-meter-long roof was placed on the airport’s no.1 hangar earlier this week.
The airport is located in southern Beijing in Daxing (大兴区), and is expected to welcome some 72 million travelers per year in the future. The terminal area will cover some 700,000 square meter.
Photo of the upcoming airport posted on Weibo by @永定河孔雀城
According to Sina News, at most 8000 builders are working on the construction site at the same time.
The terminal building was designed by ADPI in collaboration with, amongst other consultants, Zaha Hadid Architects, who are known for their futuristic structures.
The airport is also called the “alien base” (外星人基地) by some netizens due to its extraordinary size and design.
Dozens of photos of the airport construction site are circulating on Weibo.
Photographer Chou Gui (@chougui17) posted a collection of various photos of the upcoming airport on their Weibo account.
Chinese state media propagate Beijing’s Daxing International Airport as being “100% China-made.” Located in the Daxing district of southern Beijing, it will become an important part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster.
You might also like to read: Real-Life Fairy Tale Landscape: Abandoned Fishing Village Houtouwan.
By Manya Koetse
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A brutal case of pet killing has shocked Chinese social media users this week. On September 6, a man from the Shapingba district of Chongqing threw his golden retriever and a pregnant cat from the 21st floor of an apartment building. Both animals died.
Various Chinese media report that the man supposedly committed the cruel act after learning his wife was pregnant and not wanting her to keep pets in the house while expecting. After an argument with his wife, he allegedly threw the pets out of the window.
Shocked neighbors told reporters that the incident occurred around five o’clock on Thursday, when they heard a loud thump and found the animals on the pavement.
Some neighbours recognized the animals, as their own dog would play with the golden retriever. They called the pet owner, who said he no longer wanted anything to do with the dog and the cat. The neighbors, some crying, later gave the dog and cat a respectful burial.
On Weibo, the hashtag “Man Throws Dog and Cat from 21st Floor” (#男子21楼扔下一猫一狗#) was viewed almost three million times.
Animal cruelty often becomes a topic of debate on Weibo. One of the biggest social media trending cases of animal abuse of the past years is that of the dog Lion, who went missing in December of 2017 and was found by a woman named He Hengli who then blackmailed the dog’s owner over its release.
When the ‘hostage negotiations’ reached a deadlock, the dog’s owner finally went to He’s apartment to fetch her dog together with police offers and reporters. While they knocked the door, Lion was thrown to his death from He’s sixth story apartment.
The story of ‘Lion,’ who was killed by the person who held him ‘hostage’, went viral on Weibo in January 2018.
As in many cases in which animal cruelty has been exposed on social media, Lion’s killer became a target of the so-called ‘human flesh search engine,’ with people leaking her personal information online and threatening her at her workplace and home.
Such cases have previously even led to mob justice, with people dragging abusers out of their homes and beating them.
People often resort to this kind of ‘jungle justice’ because China currently has no laws preventing animal abuse. The voices calling for legal protection of animals in China have gotten louder over the past years.
“I just cannot understand these kinds of people’s way of thinking,” one commenter said: “They now throw a dog, what will they throw next time?”
“[If you no longer want your pets], you could just give them away, instead of cruelly throwing them to their death. Also – if someone would’ve walked there, they might have died, too,” others wrote.
Some write: “If someone mistreats an animal it’s a clear sign they’re abnormal maniacs,” with many others worrying about the future child of the pet killer: “He’s surely not fit to be a father.”
By Manya Koetse
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©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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