17-Year-Old Elite Student in Zhengzhou Kills Mother to Escape Study Pressure
After the incident, he claimed "no regrets," exposing the tragedy of exam-oriented education.
In the western part of Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan Province, there is a prestigious high school. This renowned school is favored by parents and students alike for its annual success in sending hundreds of students to key universities. Many junior high graduates take pride in being admitted to this school.
On February 22nd, at noon, reporters from the Legal Daily observed many parents waiting outside the gates of this prestigious school to pick up their children. One parent told the reporter: "My child has heavy study responsibilities; I pick him up to eat something nutritious at home."
However, some of them were unaware that on February 7th, the day after the Lantern Festival, Cheng Cai (a pseudonym), a sophomore at this prestigious school, killed his own mother at home.
When the 17-year-old Cheng Cai confessed to his motive for the murder, he said: "I don't have to study anymore, and I don't have to feel so much pressure."
On February 22nd, the Zhongyuan District People's Procuratorate of Zhengzhou approved Cheng Cai's arrest on suspicion of intentional homicide.
The Academic Path of a Good Student
Born on January 16, 1995, in a working-class family in Zhengzhou, Cheng Cai was seen as exceptional by his parents, excelling academically. Relatives and neighbors praised him highly.
After finishing elementary school, Cheng Cai attended a prestigious local junior high school. In 2010, he was admitted to a prestigious high school.
As soon as Cheng Cai started high school, his mother, Ms. Guo, rented an apartment near the school and moved the family closer to facilitate his schooling.
Ms. Guo devoted all her energy to her son. She would ride an electric scooter to drop him off in the morning after breakfast, pick him up after school for lunch, and then send him back to school. She would also pick him up again at 10 PM after evening classes.
The entire family's expenses depended on Cheng Cai's father, who worked as a laborer. To ensure her son's studies, Ms. Guo lived frugally. During Cheng Cai's free time between classes, she enrolled him in tutoring sessions.
"Mom signed me up for four tutoring classes — one for Chinese, one for mathematics, one for English, and one for physics. By this year's winter break, it changed to two chemistry classes, one Chinese class, one math class, and one English class. The entire winter vacation was spent in tutoring. We stopped just before the New Year's Eve, and resumed tutoring on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Even during the few days off, I was writing homework at home," Cheng Cai recounted after the incident.
Cheng Cai performed well in school and served as the physical education representative in his class. His class was a specialized physics competition class, with students achieving excellent grades. His best performance ranked him 21st in the class and 91st in the entire school. Even when he didn’t perform as well, he still ranked within the top 300 students. According to the school teachers: "Students ranked within the top 600 in our school are considered good performers and can attend key universities."