Changchun News (reporter Liang Fan) - Because of the issue of a dowry, in-laws from Tiedong District of Siping had a quarrel. The man's family took the woman's family to court and they became enemies. At around 16:00 on January 22nd, the two families got into another fight. As a result, the father of the groom stabbed his in-laws to death with a sharp knife and injured the mother-in-law.
In-laws Kill Each Other
At around 16:10 on January 22nd, the Criminal Investigation Team of Tiedong Branch of Siping Public Security Bureau received a report that a murder case occurred in a certain village of Tiedong District. Villager Jiang was stabbed to death by his father-in-law Sun at the roadside. Jiang's wife was also injured by Sun. After the incident, Sun did not escape but asked his relatives to call the police.
When the police arrived at the scene, they found that Jiang had died with multiple stab wounds on his abdomen. Sun, who surrendered himself at home, confessed to killing Jiang. He said that he and Jiang were both in-laws and neighbors for more than twenty years. His son and Jiang's daughter got engaged on February 26th last year and held their wedding on March 15th. Since the bride was too young, they didn't register the marriage. From the engagement to the wedding, the Jiang family asked the Sun family for nearly 80,000 yuan as a dowry. The root cause of this murder case was this dowry.
Taking the Issue of Dowry to Court
Sun's son told the reporter that starting from the eighth day of their new marriage, the newlyweds began to argue over daily life issues. The bride would visit her parents every day. Half a month after the wedding, she moved back to her parents' house and never returned to her husband's house. Sun claimed that Jiang said if they wanted their daughter to return, they would need to give them an additional 20,000 yuan, otherwise it wouldn't be discussed.
Sun said that seeing no intention from the other side to live well with his son, the Sun family decided that the marriage between the two children was off and asked the Jiang family to return the nearly 80,000 yuan dowry money, but the Jiang family refused firmly.
In April 2009, the Sun family sued the Jiang family. In August, the Tiedong District Court ruled in the first trial that the Jiang family should return 50,000 yuan of the dowry money to the Sun family. The Jiang family appealed to the Intermediate People's Court of Siping, but the second trial verdict has not yet been announced.
Sun's son said that because they were taken to court by the Sun family, the Jiang family and the Sun family became enemies. "They often cursed at us across the wall and threatened to destroy our entire family," Sun said. His wife and son also confirmed this during the interview.
Multiple Stab Wounds to the Abdomen Resulted in Immediate Death
Sun told the reporter that at around 16:00 on January 22nd, he and his wife were playing cards with others in a small store in the village. At this time, Jiang, holding a sharp knife with his wife, daughter, brother-in-law, and others, came to the store. They accused the Sun family of talking behind their backs about the dowry issue, then overturned the card table and started chasing and beating Sun and his wife. Sun ran home to get a knife, while his wife was surrounded and beaten by Jiang's wife and daughter.
Sun said that he took a sharp knife from his home, hid it in his clothes, and returned to the store. On the way, he encountered Jiang and his wife and daughter who were preparing to leave. Seeing Sun, Jiang rushed over to beat him, without holding any weapon. At this moment, Sun pulled out the prepared knife and stabbed Jiang multiple times in the abdomen, causing Jiang's immediate death. Turning around, Sun chased after Jiang's wife and stabbed her in the back. Subsequently, Jiang's wife and daughter escaped from the scene.
After the incident, Sun did not escape but let his wife and nephew call 120 and 110 respectively until the police took him away from his home.
Dialogue with the Suspect:
If I hadn't drunk alcohol,
Maybe I wouldn't have killed anyone.
Yesterday morning, I interviewed the suspect Sun at the Criminal Investigation Team of Tiedong Branch of Siping Public Security Bureau.
Reporter: He didn't have a knife when you stabbed him. Why did you stab him so many times?
Sun: I was afraid he would stand up and attack me.
Reporter: Why did you stab his wife?
Sun: I was afraid she would hit me from behind.
Reporter: Were there any other reasons?
Sun: If I hadn't drunk alcohol, maybe I wouldn't have killed anyone. That day, I drank alcohol. Also, my heart was filled with hatred for their family.
Reporter: What do you hate?
Sun: I hate how they bullied us too much, refusing to return the dowry money and constantly humiliating our family.
Reporter: No matter what, you shouldn't solve problems in such an extreme way.
Sun: Yes...
Photographed by reporter Liang Fan