Summary A Chinese man who staged his own death to avoid a drunk driving case was arrested after police uncovered the hoax. A court sentenced him to five months in prison and fined him 20,000 yuan.
BEIJING (Dunya News) – A man in China's Hunan province has been arrested after allegedly staging his own death in an attempt to avoid prosecution in a drunk driving case, but the elaborate scheme was uncovered during a police investigation.
According to Chinese police, the suspect, identified only by the surname Xi, was recently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Investigators found that he had previously been caught twice for driving without a licence while intoxicated. Fearing a prison sentence after his third arrest, he allegedly devised a plan to fake his own death.
Police said the suspect, with the help of family members, purchased a coffin in advance, scattered empty medicine bottles around the house and created the appearance that he had died from a drug overdose.
As part of the plan, the suspect's mother and grandmother covered his face with a cloth during the funeral, telling neighbours that his face had been badly disfigured by the effects of the medication. A hurried burial was also staged on the same day, while the suspect secretly fled to another province.
Authorities became suspicious after discovering several inconsistencies. Investigators found that the coffin had been purchased before the alleged death, no ambulance had been called, police had not been informed and there was no official record of either the death or burial.
With the help of information from neighbours and security camera footage, police confirmed that the suspect was alive and later arrested him.
A court sentenced the man to five months in prison and imposed a fine of 20,000 yuan. Legal proceedings have also been initiated against his mother and grandmother for allegedly helping conceal him and withholding information from authorities.
