Our press (reporter Suya Sun) - Dong Yingku, a man from Liaoning who sold clothing at a market in Changping District, killed his competitor Zhao because he thought Zhao had stolen his customers. After committing the crime, Dong fled to Northeast China and lived under an assumed name, working odd jobs for nearly 8 years before being captured by the police. Yesterday, it was reported that the No. 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Dong Yingku to life imprisonment for intentional injury.
The prosecution charged that at around 14:00 on December 16, 2003, while selling clothes in Yinzhu Market, Xiaotangshan Town, Changping District, Dong Yingku believed that Zhao, who also operated a clothing business in the same market, was competing with him for customers. Consequently, Dong grabbed a dagger and stabbed Zhao in the head and shoulder, causing fatal cranial injuries which led to Zhao's death after unsuccessful medical treatment. Dong was arrested on July 15, 2011, after fleeing the scene of the crime.
Dong stated that in the winter of 2002, he started selling clothes in Xiaotangshan. After October 2003, many people came to sell leather goods in the market, which affected his business and income. On the day of the incident, at noon, Dong was selling goods at his stall. "My stall faced the market entrance directly, so customers could see my goods as soon as they entered," Dong said. However, Zhao, who had a stall on the left side of the market entrance, would call out to customers entering the market to look at his goods. Seeing Zhao intercepting many of his customers, Dong became angry and went to Zhao's stall to argue. The two quickly began fighting, and in the heat of the moment, Dong grabbed a knife from a nearby hardware stall and stabbed Zhao. Dong then washed his face in the toilet and threw the knife into the garbage pile. Fearing the consequences, Dong immediately took a bus to Beijing Station and then a train to Heilongjiang Province.
"I got off the train at a small station, I don't even know the exact location," Dong said. Later, he worked in the rural areas near Heilongjiang for about three years starting from January 20th, 2009. Around 2007, while working, he gradually made his way back towards his hometown of Liaoyang. In July 2010, he arrived in Liaoyang City and worked as a laborer on construction sites. On July 15, 2011, he was arrested when riding his own motorcycle to work and was identified by the police.
It is understood that the public security organs initiated an investigation into this case on December 17, 2003, and Dong Yingku was registered online as a fugitive. At 8:30 AM on July 15, 2011, traffic police officers of the Liaoyang Municipal Public Security Bureau noticed a suspicious man riding a motorcycle without carrying an ID card or driver's license during their duty. After repeated questioning and online comparison, it was confirmed that the man was Dong Yingku, a fugitive wanted by the Beijing police. Dong was escorted back to Beijing for interrogation on July 20, 2011.
The court ruled that Dong Yingku had committed the crime of intentional injury and sentenced him to life imprisonment, ordering him to compensate the deceased's family over 440,000 yuan.