Suspect Liu Yalin
Key Points:
On the afternoon of September 6, 2009, eight-year-old Peng Xuan from Hubei Province disappeared near Guoxing Avenue in Haikou. She was later found to have been murdered and dismembered. At 4 PM on September 8, the Haikou Public Security Bureau held a press conference regarding the "September 8, 2009" murder case, informing the media about the case details. The Haikou police captured suspect Liu Yalin just one hour after receiving the report. Liu Yalin was later determined to suffer from schizophrenia and was deemed not criminally responsible for this case.
Yesterday, Peng Xuan's family filed a civil lawsuit against Liu Yalin and his family in the Meilan District Court of Haikou, demanding compensation of 327,440 yuan.
Reporter Liao Ziru / Text and Photos
The Killer Suffered from Mental Illness and Was Not Held Criminally Responsible
The Killer and His Three Family Members Were Sued for 320,000 Yuan
The tragic murder of the eight-year-old girl from Hubei, Peng Xuan, in Haikou drew widespread attention. Yesterday, Peng Xuan's father Peng Yunqiao and mother Yu Zhongying filed a civil lawsuit against the killer Liu Yalin, Liu Yahui (Liu Yalin's brother), Liu Zhiping (Liu Yalin's father), Zhao Ruifang (Liu Yalin's mother) and others in the Meilan District Court of Haikou. The Haikou Legal Aid Center assigned lawyer Zhang Menghua from the Hainan Ruyu Law Firm to provide legal assistance. The four defendants, including Liu Yalin, did not appear in court.
Peng Xuan's parents demanded compensation of 327,440 yuan from the four defendants for lost wages, funeral expenses, transportation costs, death compensation, and mental distress damages. They also requested that the four defendants bear the litigation costs of this case.
Peng Xuan's parents stated that on the afternoon of September 6, 2009, their daughter went missing while playing. After failing to find her, they reported the disappearance to the Guoxing Police Station of the Haikou Public Security Bureau. On September 8, the Tianlulu Police Station of the Haikou Public Security Bureau called them to inform them that parts of a child's body had been discovered at a construction site on Guoxing Avenue, asking them to identify it. After identification, it was confirmed that the deceased was their daughter Peng Xuan. Suspect Liu Yalin was arrested by the police near the crime scene.
On October 21, 2009, the Meilan Branch of the Haikou Public Security Bureau issued a 'Case Resolution Notice' and two 'Judgment Conclusion Notices', confirming that the suspect who killed Peng Xuan was Liu Yalin; DNA tests confirmed that the victimized girl was Peng Xuan; and the suspect Liu Yalin was diagnosed with schizophrenia and thus not criminally responsible.
According to relevant provisions of China's Criminal Law, although psychiatric patients are not criminally responsible for their actions during episodes, they cannot be exempted from civil liability. Therefore, suspect Liu Yalin should bear civil compensation responsibility for his actions. If he is indeed unable to bear the cost, his guardians should take over. Since suspect Liu Yalin is unmarried, his parents are his legal guardians. However, due to their advanced age and physical inconvenience, even taking care of themselves is difficult, let alone supervising Liu Yalin. Thus, Liu Yalin's brother Liu Yahui was designated as his guardian.
Previously, Liu Yalin had committed murder during a psychiatric episode. Liu Yahui, fully aware of this, still brought him to Hainan and abandoned him in Haikou before returning to Guangdong alone, ultimately leading to the tragedy. Clearly, Liu Yahui failed to fulfill his duties as a guardian and may even have allowed Liu Yalin to commit crimes. Therefore, the four defendants, including Liu Yalin, should jointly bear civil compensation responsibility for Peng Xuan.
The Killer Had Previously Murdered Two Elders in Guangdong
And Also Severed a Girl's Ear
After the case of Liu Yalin brutally murdering and dismembering the eight-year-old girl Peng Xuan was reported by our newspaper, it attracted widespread attention. The citizens of Haikou were filled with indignation towards Liu Yalin's cruel acts and condemned him for lacking humanity.
Upon investigation by the Haikou police, it was found that Liu Yalin was from Nabo Wangteng Village, Wenhua Town, Huazhou City, Guangdong Province, and was 47 years old. His family included an 88-year-old father, a 79-year-old mother, and a 53-year-old brother. Liu Yalin's uncle (64 years old) worked at a state-owned farm in Huazhou City, Guangdong Province, and has since retired.
According to the Haikou police, during the investigation into the murder of the eight-year-old girl Peng Xuan, through cooperation with the Huazhou police in Guangdong, it was learned that before the murder of Peng Xuan in Haikou, Liu Yalin had previously brutally murdered two elderly women and one elderly man who were cutting firewood in the mountains back in his hometown. After the incident, the Huazhou police in Guangdong captured Liu Yalin, conducted a psychiatric evaluation, and concluded that Liu Yalin suffered from schizophrenia and was not criminally responsible for the case, so he was released and handed over to his guardian for supervision. In Guangdong, Liu Yalin had also injured another girl, severing her ear with a knife. Fortunately, someone intervened in time, preventing a fatal outcome.
The Killer Was Brought to Haikou and "Abandoned" by His Brother
Confessions Made the Investigating Officers Break Out in Cold Sweat
Upon investigation by the Haikou police, it was found that after committing several crimes in Guangdong, Liu Yalin's family sent him to his uncle's home at a state-owned farm in Huazhou City, Guangdong Province. Later, Liu Yalin returned to his hometown on his own. Liu Yalin confessed to the Haikou police: His brother was very annoyed with him. A few days before Peng Xuan was killed, his brother brought him from their hometown to Haikou and left him there alone before returning home.
Liu Yalin also confessed that inside the plastic woven bag he carried was a machete. On the afternoon of September 6, 2009, he saw Peng Xuan playing with three other female companions near the old airport on Guoxing Avenue. He wanted to kill all four girls. When he rushed over with the knife, the other three girls ran away in fear, but one girl didn't escape. He struck her on the head with the knife, knocked her down, and then dismembered her with the machete.
Liu Yalin's confession made the investigating officers break out in cold sweat: If the other three little girls hadn't run fast enough, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The Psychiatric Killer Was Sent Back to His Hometown
His Brother Wrote a Guarantee Letter Promising Strict Supervision
After being diagnosed with schizophrenia and deemed not criminally responsible for the case, on October 16, 2009, Liu Yalin's brother Liu Yahui and officers from the Huazhou City Public Security Bureau's criminal investigation team came to the No. 1 Detention Center in Haikou to take the suspect Liu Yalin back to Guangdong. Liu Yahui wrote a guarantee letter to the investigating officers of the Meilan Branch of the Haikou Public Security Bureau's criminal investigation team: "After sending my younger brother Liu Yalin back to his original place of residence, I will strictly supervise him to prevent him from causing trouble again." Liu Yahui signed the guarantee letter, and Peng Xuan's father also signed and pressed his fingerprint on the document.
In mid-October last year, Peng Xuan's father and uncle quietly went to Liu Yalin's hometown in Nabo Wangteng Village, Wenhua Town, Huazhou City, Guangdong Province, to investigate. Nabo Wangteng Village is a remote small mountain village with only more than ten households. They learned from the villagers that Liu Yalin had been suffering from mental illness for many years and had violent tendencies. His family once locked him in an iron cage in the backyard of their house but later released him out of pity. When the villagers learned that Liu Yalin had killed someone again in Haikou, they all shook their heads in sorrow.
The Victim's Family Was Heartbroken
The Court Did Not Announce the Verdict Immediately
In the morning yesterday, Peng Xuan's father Peng Yunqiao, in an exclusive interview with reporters from the Hainan Special Zone Daily, held the civil complaint in his hand and cried uncontrollably.
Peng Yunqiao told reporters that after Peng Xuan was killed, Peng Xuan's grandmother suffered a heart attack and fell ill, and his wife cried every day, almost going blind from grief. He no longer had the heart to work, and his family was almost falling apart. Initially, when they learned that Liu Yalin had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was not criminally responsible for the murder, and had been taken back to his hometown in Guangdong, Peng Yunqiao and his family found it hard to accept this fact.
The Meilan Branch of the Haikou Public Security Bureau expressed deep sympathy for Peng Xuan's family. The Haikou Legal Aid Center provided legal assistance to Peng Xuan's family, helping them file a civil lawsuit for compensation. On November 20, 2009, Peng Xuan's parents, as plaintiffs, sued the suspects Liu Yalin, Liu Yalin's parents, and brother in court, demanding that they bear civil compensation responsibility.
After the trial ended yesterday, the reporter interviewed Judge Chen, the presiding judge of the case. Judge Chen said that after preliminary investigations, Liu Yalin and his family had very poor economic conditions. After the judgment takes effect, the court might face the awkward situation of the defendant having no assets to execute. If the court rules and the defendant has no assets to execute, the plaintiff can apply to the court for judicial relief. The court did not announce the verdict immediately yesterday.
Reporter's Notes
Please Keep an Eye on Violent Psychopaths
Liu Yalin, who suffers from mental illness, has violent tendencies and has brutally murdered three people and dismembered their bodies. Because psychiatric patients are not criminally responsible, Liu Yalin was arrested and then released after killing someone, and after being released, he killed again. Why weren't such violent psychopaths controlled? Liu Yalin's brother Liu Yahui brought him to Haikou and then left him alone, adopting a laissez-faire attitude towards Liu Yalin's violent tendencies. The killing of Xiao Peng Xuan is something Liu Yahui cannot escape moral condemnation for. We hope that the guardians of psychiatric patients strengthen management, and relevant government departments do their jobs well, ensuring they receive proper treatment and management, preventing them from continuing to harm others and causing tragedies.