The modified loader driven by the deceased during his struggle with the thug was covered in blood. All photos taken by reporter Wang Yongbo of this newspaper.
At around 15:15 on May 1st, near the Yangqu Highway about a thousand meters away from the Nanmeng Village of Nanmeng Town in Gaocheng City, a woman was robbed of her bag and assaulted by a man on a motorcycle. When none of the four passing cars offered help, Wu Wendeh, a villager from Nanmeng Village who was working nearby, arrived at the scene driving a "small loader" (modified from a tractor) to stop the thug who was preparing to flee after being blocked. As a result, Wu Wendeh was immediately attacked by the thug and stabbed seven times.
At 16:30, Wu Wendeh's life, aged 48, was declared over. The victimized woman, Guo Min (a pseudonym), only then realized that her benefactor who had sacrificed his life to save her was actually a disabled person with mobility issues. Yesterday afternoon, Guo Min and her family knelt for a long time before the coffin of their benefactor, reluctant to get up.
Currently, the Second Detachment of the Criminal Investigation Team of Gaocheng City has intervened in the case and is making every effort to apprehend the suspect.
Incident
A Woman Was Robbed in Broad Daylight; Four Passing Cars Offered No Help
Yesterday afternoon, the victimized woman Guo Min and her aunt came to Wu Wendeh's house. Upon entering, facing Wu Wendeh's coffin, both of them fell to their knees and cried uncontrollably, refusing to get up despite repeated attempts to persuade them otherwise.
Guo Min's face was full of bruises, her left cheek swollen high. She told reporters that all these injuries were caused by the thug on May 1st. Guo Min, 20 years old, came from Zhangjiazhuang Town in Gaocheng City. That day, she was riding an electric bike to visit her aunt in Nanmeng Village. At around 15:00, when she was about a thousand meters away from Nanmeng Village, a man on a motorcycle wearing sunglasses approached her from behind and asked her, "Where are you going?" Feeling that he wasn't a good person, Guo Min replied irritably, "It's none of your business where I'm going."
Guo Min said that the man parked his motorcycle in front of her, walked towards her and shouted, "You're pretty tough!" Then he started grabbing the bag in her basket. Guo Min quickly dropped her electric bike and held onto her bag tightly. "We pulled back and forth a few times, and the things inside my bag scattered all over the ground," Guo Min said. The man became extremely angry, grabbed her neck, and punched her in the face. Instantly, Guo Min felt something warm flowing out of her nose. The man continued to drag her neck towards the wheat field on the side of the road. After a few steps, Guo Min slipped and fell to the ground, and the man's punches rained down on her like hailstones.
"I started crying and shouting," Guo Min said. While the man was beating her, a total of four vehicles passed by them, but none of them offered any help. "The first one was a white Buick car, which stopped in front of us. A person in the passenger seat rolled down the window, took a look, and then drove away. Subsequently, two large trucks slowed down and then sped away quickly." Guo Min said what made her both angry and sad was that the driver of the third vehicle even smiled at them.
Driving the "Small Loader" to Stop the Thug, Wu Wendeh Was Stabbed
Guo Min said that after the man beat her a few more times and started fleeing towards his motorcycle, she stood up to pick up her scattered belongings when she suddenly noticed a man driving a "small loader" coming from ahead, twice blocking the escaping thug and forcing him to fall off his motorcycle.
"After he (the thug) fell, he took out a newspaper-wrapped item from his motorcycle, drew something and swung it towards the man sitting on the loader," Guo Min said. Because the loader was facing away from her, she only saw the two men struggling. Soon, the thug fled again on his motorcycle.
"When I ran to the loader, I saw Brother Wu Wendeh, who had helped me, was covered in blood and had already collapsed on the steering wheel, motionless," Guo Min said.
Recollection
The Benefactor Was Disabled, Blood Flowing More Than Three Meters
Guo Min said that after the incident, she learned that the person who had helped her, Wu Wendeh, was a disabled person with limited mobility who used a single crutch. "I feel deeply guilty inside," Guo Min said. Her only hope is that the murderer is caught as soon as possible and severely punished, to console her benefactor.
Wu Wendeh's youngest daughter, Wu Shihong, recalled that at around 15:00 on May 1st, her father Wu Wendeh was driving the "small loader" with her to a garbage dump located beside the Yangqu Highway west of the village. That day, her father was supposed to transport garbage from an iron factory to the dump. Before going to the iron factory, her father intended to pile up the garbage at the dump. "I had just parked my bicycle when I heard someone shouting for help in the distance," Wu Shihong said. She and her father looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man and a woman about a hundred meters away struggling with each other. "The man kept hitting the girl and dragging her neck towards the wheat field."
When Wu Shihong was still wondering what had happened, she suddenly noticed her father had already driven the small loader towards the place where the two people were arguing. Wu Shihong said that when she saw her father tangled up with someone, she immediately called a relative and ran towards her father.
When Wu Shihong reached her father, she was completely stunned. "(Father) was covered in blood, as was the loader." Wu Shihong tried several times to hold back her tears, but they still streamed down her face and dropped to the ground. She said that at that moment, her father's blood was dripping onto the loader and then continuously falling through the gaps onto the ground.
Subsequently, Wu Wendeh was rushed to the Nanmeng Town Health Center by relatives and then transferred to the Gaocheng City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. Ultimately, Wu Wendeh died after unsuccessful resuscitation.
Yesterday afternoon, at the scene of the incident, dark red blood was clearly visible. Several "rivers of blood" extended from a pool of blood, with the longest stretching more than three meters. The small loader parked at the Nanmeng Town Police Station had forever lost its owner, but Wu Wendeh's bloodstains could still be seen all over the loader.
Progress
Local Police Are Making Every Effort to Arrest the Thug
Yesterday, Wu Wendeh's body underwent an autopsy by forensic doctors. Wu Wendeh's cousin participated in the autopsy and said that he counted seven wounds on Wu Wendeh's body. According to Guo Min, after the incident, she called her aunt and described the appearance of the thug, asking her to intercept him. However, at the entrance of Nanmeng Village, the thug escaped after injuring the hands of a relative of her aunt. Currently, the injured person is receiving treatment in the hospital.
Reporters learned that the suspect is around 30 years old, about 170 cm tall, with a darker complexion and speaks with a local accent.
Currently, the Second Detachment of the Criminal Investigation Team of Gaocheng City has intervened in the case. From the detachment, we learned that the incident occurred at around 15:15 and was registered as a robbery case. The police stated that they are actively investigating and making every effort to arrest the suspect.
Character Sketch
He Was the Good Person in People's Eyes
Yesterday's Nanmeng Village was different from usual. The streets were desolate, while there was a constant flow of visitors to Wu Wendeh's home in the west of the village, with villagers coming to comfort the bereaved family.
Wife Wang Xiangtai: Although our family was poor, he never gave up
According to Wu Wendeh's wife, Wang Xiangtai, Wu Wendeh suffered from polio since childhood and was classified as having a second-level disability. But Wu Wendeh never abandoned himself because he was disabled, waiting for others' help. Wang Xiangtai cried and said that with Wu Wendeh's departure, she felt like the pillar of the family had fallen. He had parents nearly eighty years old, and among his three daughters, two were unmarried.
Relatives of Wu Wendeh said that due to family reasons, Wu Wendeh didn't finish elementary school. To reduce the burden on his family, he began learning repair skills at around ten years old. "Handy, he would study and figure things out." Wu Wenhu, Wu Wendeh's younger brother, said that since repairing radios and such items wasn't profitable, Wu Wendeh started raising pigs. Not making much money, Wu Wendeh then opened a repair shop, fixing agricultural machinery and other equipment for the villagers. Due to physical limitations from his disability, Wu Wendeh's business wasn't thriving. A few years ago, he finally found a job transporting garbage after asking around everywhere. To save money, Wu Wendeh transformed an old tractor that had been in use for over ten years into a "small loader" for easier garbage transportation.
Wang Xiangtai said that although the family was still poor, Wu Wendeh never gave up, striving hard to support the family. With the help of relatives a few years ago, they renovated their house.
Disabled Person Wang Jingu: He Gave Me the Business He Had Taken
Wang Jingu, a fellow villager one year older than Wu Wendeh, is also a disabled person. Talking about this younger brother, he was filled with gratitude. Due to physical disabilities, Wang Jingu's family faced great difficulties. A few years ago, Wu Wendeh secured a vegetable delivery business but voluntarily gave it to Wang Jingu. Wang Jingu lacked funds, so Wu Wendeh took money out of his meager savings. "He gave me several thousand yuan over time," Wang Jingu said. During holidays, Wu Wendeh would often visit him and give him festival expenses.
Villager Wang Junhua mentioned Wu Wendeh and repeatedly used the words "good person." She said that sometimes when she was busy with work, she would ask Wu Wendeh to watch her children, and he would never refuse.
Deputy Director of the Village Committee, Wu Pingyi: He Voluntarily Gave Up His Low-Income Family Quota
Due to poverty, Wu Wendeh started receiving low-income assistance in 2003. The hundreds of yuan provided monthly by the government became an important source of income for the family. In mid-April this year, a new round of low-income family evaluations was conducted, and Wu Wendeh, as a previous recipient, received a low-income registration form. A few days later, when everyone else had submitted their forms, Wu Wendeh had not done so.
Deputy Director Wu Pingyi of the Nanmeng Village Committee said that when the village investigated the reason with Wu Wendeh, he told them that his living conditions had improved somewhat in recent years, and he wanted to give the quota to families in greater need.
Wu Pingyi said that according to Wu Wendeh's family situation, he had the opportunity to continue receiving low-income assistance. "As a disabled person voluntarily giving up his low-income quota, many young people admired him," Wu Pingyi said. Wu Wendeh's brave fight against the thug was a source of pride for the people of Nanmeng Village.
■ Written by reporter Ren Li of this newspaper