Simulation diagram of the motorcycle snatching incident, created by Zhou Peng. Liu Suguo mimics the suspect stealing her bag. Chang Shengke's right calf suffered a comminuted fracture while capturing the thief. The simulation recreates Chang Shengke's brave chase after the thief.
At around 16:25 on November 6th, while returning home from shopping, Gaocheng resident Liu Suguo was victim to a "motorcycle gang" bag snatch. After chasing for nearly 400 meters, she found her husband Chang Shengke lying on the ground. To her surprise, the red handbag tightly clenched in her husband's hand belonged to her. Chang Shengke mentioned that he didn't know the thief had stolen his wife's bag before chasing him but was angered by the audacity of someone daring to snatch bags in broad daylight. Due to catching the thief, his right calf suffered a comminuted fracture.
■ A woman is robbed on the non-motorized vehicle lane
At around 16:25 on November 6th, Gaocheng resident Liu Suguo and her neighbor were cycling along Lianzhou Road heading westward back home. About 150 meters ahead, her husband Chang Shengke was driving a scooter with their son on the motor vehicle lane. That day, after having lunch together post-shopping, they were heading home with the husband’s vehicle leading the way.
Suddenly, a cap-wearing, masked man riding a large motorcycle encircled Liu Suguo from her right side, quickly using the front wheel to block her bicycle and reaching for the red handbag in her basket. At the time, the handbag contained over 1700 yuan in cash and three bank cards, with a total value of approximately 100,000 yuan.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing?” By the time Liu Suguo realized, the bag had already been snatched. The suspect sped away to the east.
“Someone has snatched a bag! Catch him quickly!” A passerby shouted loudly. Liu Suguo furiously pedaled her bicycle in the direction the robber fled. “Help! Someone is robbing!” Many people around also joined in shouting.
However, within half a minute, the red motorcycle driven by the robber turned into Tong'an Street about 150 meters away from the incident location, disappearing from Liu Suguo's sight. “It's over, definitely can't catch up now.” Liu Suguo said, feeling disheartened, but continued to chase forward.
■ Husband injured and collapsed, wife discovers it in shock
At around 16:32, out of breath, Liu Suguo discovered her fallen husband at about 150 meters north of the intersection of Lianzhou Road and Tong'an Street. The scooter was overturned by the roadside, and her frightened son stood beside it.
“What are you doing here?” Liu Suguo said, temporarily forgetting about the robbery of her handbag, noticing a large scrape near her husband's right eye with blood seeping through the skin. “I was trying to catch the bag snatcher,” Chang Shengke said, “but unfortunately, he got away.”
“Whose bag is this?” Liu Suguo's mind went blank, looking at the familiar red handbag in front of her, asking her terrified son who couldn't respond. “What's wrong with my dad?” Her son, unable to answer, anxiously looked at his father sitting on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Oh, isn't this my bag?” Liu Suguo said, realizing only after pulling open the bag zipper. But her husband couldn't stand up anymore; his right lower leg had detached from the thigh, appearing limp.
That evening at around 18:00, Chang Shengke was taken to the Third Hospital of Shijiazhuang by his wife.
■ Husband claims he chased the thief out of indignation at the daylight robbery
At around 10:00 yesterday, Chang Shengke lay on the hospital bed with his right calf wrapped in thick bandages.
“When my son and I reached the intersection of Lianzhou Road and Tong'an Street, someone behind us shouted ‘Catch the thief!’” Chang Shengke said. He was just about to turn around when he noticed a black-clad man on a motorcycle speeding past him and quickly turning north into Tong'an Street.
In broad daylight, someone dared to snatch bags openly on the street, making Chang Shengke furious. “But I hesitated for a moment because his bike was quite big, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to catch up,” Chang Shengke said. Seeing that there were many cars and people on Tong'an Street, he thought the robber wouldn't be able to run fast, so he decided to speed up and pursue.
Chang Shengke said he caught the robber's left shoulder on Tong'an Street, and they struggled. “The guy panicked, threw the bag on the ground, which seemed to belong to my wife,” but Chang Shengke didn't have time to think much and kept holding onto the man's clothes firmly. However, as he had his son on the scooter, it suddenly lost balance, and both Chang Shengke and his son fell to the ground. The robber took the opportunity to escape.
“Quickly, catch the thief!” Chang Shengke tried to get up but found he couldn't use his right leg and fell again. A few minutes later, his hurried wife arrived. “Comminuted fracture of the right calf, when we arrived at the hospital that night, the calf was swollen thicker than the thigh,” Chang Shengke said.
“This matter is really coincidental, like a novel.” Yesterday, Chang Shengke lying in the hospital bed said that at the time of the incident, he didn't know the person being robbed was his own wife; he chased the robber purely out of indignation.
After the bag was returned, Liu Suguo was moved by her husband's actions and expressed her intention to apply for the title of "Righteousness and Bravery" for her husband. Even if there might be some controversies or "dangers," Liu Suguo doesn't care.
Did the husband's pursuit of the robber to retrieve his wife's bag qualify for the title of "Righteousness and Bravery"?
■ Husband: If I knew the bag belonged to my wife, I probably wouldn't have chased
Chang Shengke lay in bed, his right leg freshly medicated, with faint bloodstains still visible on his ankle.
“This matter is really coincidental, like a novel.” Chang Shengke said that Lianzhou Road is one of the main streets in Gaocheng City, where many government agencies are located, and there are also many shops. On the day of the incident, it was the weekend, so there were more people and vehicles on the road. “My wife was cycling slowly, and I was driving the motorcycle with our son, so we were on the fast lane and 'took the lead'.”
When hearing the shout to catch the thief, Chang Shengke said he didn't have time to turn around and noticed the robber had already rushed past him. After a brief hesitation, he angrily chased after the thief. It wasn't until during the struggle that he realized the bag might belong to his wife.
“If I had known the bag belonged to my wife, I probably wouldn't have chased.” Chang Shengke laughed, saying he knew his wife's bag didn't contain much cash, and the loss of bank cards could be reported. If he had known the bag belonged to his wife, he wouldn't feel guilty for not stepping in for a stranger's bag.
■ Wife: “I want to apply for the title of Righteousness and Bravery for my husband”
■ Question One: Why do you want to apply for your husband?
“Even though my husband got injured, I feel proud and happy.” Liu Suguo said, “Most importantly, he didn't know the bag belonged to me at the time!”
Liu Suguo introduced that Chang Shengke used to be a soldier, and this wasn't the first time he had acted bravely upon seeing injustice. “One night, while returning home together, there was a man following a little girl.” Liu Suguo said, then they vaguely heard the man threatening the girl to hand over her cash and mobile phone. “After seeing this, my husband shouted loudly, and the man saw someone coming and ran away.”
Liu Suguo also mentioned that just recently, she and her husband encountered a group beating incident. “At the time, 12 people were beating one person, and my husband quickly ran over to stop them and quickly called the police.”
Liu Suguo expressed that her husband always steps forward when encountering injustice, and she should apply for the title of "Righteousness and Bravery" for him.
■ Question Two: How did you feel when you learned the 'benefactor' was your husband?
“My mind went blank, it felt too dramatic, and I couldn't believe it was true.” Liu Suguo laughed, saying when she saw her husband sitting on the ground, her first reaction was: “Why is he sitting here? What happened?” Even after hearing Chang Shengke say he was chasing the thief, she didn't connect it with her own robbery.
■ Question Three: Do you support your husband chasing the thief with your son?
“I support it. Although my son also fell during the struggle with the thief and got some scratches, his father's action taught him that he should step forward when encountering such situations.” Liu Suguo said that after this incident, her husband became her son's "idol." “He says his father is very brave, and he is proud.”
■ Question Four: Since you are married, are you worried about controversy?
“Of course not, I am a fact-based person, and I believe facts will prove everything.” Liu Suguo believes that society today is generally colder, and many people hold the attitude of “one less thing is better.” “My husband chased the thief without knowing it was my bag being snatched, and I think he is great.”
Journalist Verification
■ Doubt One: Did Chang Shengke see his wife being robbed?
Yesterday afternoon, the journalist arrived at the intersection of Lianzhou Road and Tong'an Street in Gaocheng City. According to Liu Suguo's indication, the location where the thug snatched the bag was about 150 meters from the traffic light at the intersection of the two roads, and the location where Chang Shengke struggled with the thug was at least 170 meters from the intersection. If according to what Chang Shengke said, he was at the crossroads when he heard someone calling for help, under conditions of low vehicle flow, he should have been able to vaguely see his wife.
“At that time, I just heard someone outside shouting ‘Catch the person, bag snatching!’” An employee of a fashion store less than 20 meters from the robbery site on Lianzhou Road pointed to the nearby crossroads and said, “There were a lot of people on Lianzhou Road at the time, and by the time I went out to look, the thug had already turned onto Tong'an Street.”
At around 16:00 yesterday, the journalist retrieved the surveillance footage of the intersection at the time of the incident from the command center of the Gaocheng Public Security Bureau. Due to the high position of the camera, the image wasn't particularly clear, but it could be confirmed that between 16:00 and 16:30 on November 6th, the traffic on this section was indeed relatively dense, especially on the non-motorized vehicle lane where Liu Suguo was located, bicycles often bunched together. At this time, for Chang Shengke driving on the fast lane, it would have been difficult to spot his wife when he turned back.
■ Doubt Two: Could Chang Shengke hear his wife's cries for help?
According to an employee of a fashion store near the robbery site on Lianzhou Road, after the incident, many passersby present shouted together, combined with the sound of motor vehicle engines, causing the scene to be very noisy.
About 100 meters north of the intersection of Tong'an Street and Lianzhou Road, the owner of a seafood shop said that at around 16:39 on that day, he heard a man shouting “Someone is snatching a bag.” “I thought it was the man's bag being snatched because except for a boy accompanying him, there was no one else around.” And the fruit stall owner Yan also confirmed that in the afternoon, she had heard a man shouting, “Someone is snatching a bag, catch him.”
“They were struggling there,” the owner of an electrical appliance store on Tong'an Street said, seeing the thug riding a red motorcycle, wearing a hat and mask. During the struggle, the bag was thrown. “The man chasing later lost his balance and fell, not knowing whether he was injured, and couldn't get up.”
The journalist randomly interviewed more than a dozen shops near the scene of the incident, and the shop owners all indicated that at the time of the incident, it was basically impossible to clearly hear whose cry for help it was. Therefore, it was determined that Chang Shengke likely didn't hear his wife's cries for help.
Simulation of Chang Shengke retrieving the bag, but the thief escaping.
Voices
Many residents believe it qualifies as "Righteousness and Bravery"
An employee surnamed Nie of a pharmacy not far from the location where Chang Shengke fought with the thug said that Chang Shengke's behavior deeply moved her. “If he really pursued the thug fearlessly without knowing, then it is truly admirable and should be regarded as an act of righteousness and bravery.”
“A really kind-hearted person, praising him for his righteousness and bravery is not excessive.” An employee surnamed Wang of a costume shop on Lianzhou Road believed that many people often avoid such situations, let alone pursuing them. “If he didn't know the thug had snatched his wife's bag and still pursued him so desperately, even suffering such serious injuries, it is really rare.”
Liu Suguo said that Chang Shengke currently works in road maintenance and repair at the Transportation Bureau Highway Station in Gaocheng City. “Chang Shengke is a warm-hearted person, not only diligent in work, but also intolerant of robbery and theft.” Chang Junfeng, a colleague of Chang Shengke, said, “This incident is indeed touching, and I think it should be considered an act of righteousness and bravery.”
Police
Already received a cooperation letter from the Comprehensive Management Office
At around 15:00 yesterday, the journalist learned from the Gaocheng Public Security Bureau that a motorcycle snatching incident indeed occurred around 16:30 on November 6th near the intersection of Lianzhou Road and Tong'an Street. The Xinhua Police Station is currently investigating the case.
“The victim's statement mentioned that the person who helped retrieve her handbag was her husband, but her husband didn't know the bag belonged to his wife before chasing the thug.” An officer surnamed Zhi from the Criminal Investigation Team One of the Xinhua Police Station said that the police had already learned that the victim had applied for her husband to be recognized as performing an act of righteousness and bravery, and the Gaocheng Public Security Bureau had already received a cooperation letter from the Comprehensive Management Office. They are currently collecting materials for further verification.
Comprehensive Management Office
If eligible, will actively apply
In the afternoon yesterday, the journalist learned from the Comprehensive Management Office of Gaocheng City that Liu Suguo had already applied to them to confirm the act of righteousness and bravery. “We have sent a cooperation letter to the public security authorities. If Chang Shengke chased the thug and fought with him without knowing his wife's bag had been snatched, it meets the conditions for righteousness and bravery.” A director surnamed Wang from the Comprehensive Management Office of Gaocheng City said that in that case, the Comprehensive Management Office of Gaocheng City and the Righteousness and Bravery Work Association of G