The two elderly individuals lived in the same ancestral home and got into a fight, leaving their descendants calling it a "strange tale." The family recounted that Huang's body was found lying by the door.
Southeast Net - Strait Times Daily, May 6th (reported by Zeng Bingguang and Yang Qingzhu with text and photos): A 99-year-old woman fighting with a 97-year-old woman sounds unimaginable, but it happened. Worse still, the 99-year-old accidentally killed the 97-year-old. This incident took place in Longtan Village of Xiege Town in Nanjing County. The 97-year-old Huang and the 99-year-old Chen both lived in the same ancestral house, their bedroom doors facing each other. For unknown reasons, they got into an argument, leading to Huang being beaten to death and Chen also sustaining injuries.
Yesterday, the Nanjing County Criminal Investigation Brigade informed us that the incident stemmed from trivial matters. Chen admitted to accidentally killing someone and is currently under bail, being observed at the Tainbao Central Health Center in Zhangcheng.
The daughter-in-law delivering dinner discovered her mother-in-law bleeding and lying on the ground.
At 5:30 PM on May 3rd, Li Moulian, Huang's daughter-in-law, delivered dinner to her mother-in-law as usual. Upon entering the ancestral home, she found her mother-in-law lying face-up on the ground, unconscious, her forehead cracked, blood covering the floor. Her arms had been torn off, and the nearby broken bricks were covered in blood.
Li Moulian said she was terrified. Chen was sitting on the threshold, staring at the mother-in-law on the ground. Considering the verbal disputes between the two, she immediately suspected Chen. "I asked her, 'How could you be so wicked (Min Nan language: bad) and beat someone this way.'"
Just after saying that, Chen pulled out a cane from somewhere and struck Li's hand hard. Realizing the situation was wrong, Li dropped the food and shouted "Murder!" before quickly fleeing the scene.
Soon afterward, the police arrived at the scene and confirmed that Huang had died. "My mother died so tragically; her arms required many bandages to bind," said Huang's youngest son, Li Abiao. He found his mother's feet inside her room while her body lay face-up in the shared hall.
Chen's grandson: Willing to pay for funeral expenses
Neighbors of the two elderly women said that Chen was reclusive and didn't get along well with most of the villagers. She lived alone in the ancestral home, cooking for herself.
Li Abiao said that the ownership of the ancestral home belonged to both families. His mother and Chen lived separately, their doors directly opposite each other. As the houses next to the ancestral home were gradually vacated, only these two elderly women remained. In their youth, they occasionally had disputes. Now, with most of their peers having passed away, they were considered the oldest in the community, often visited by people chatting with Huang. "Chen's side rarely had visitors."
"Recently, I saw them chatting together," another neighbor said. With old age, their personalities became childlike. They might have a fight one day but could eat candy together the next day. Such an incident was indeed unimaginable.
Chen's second grandson, Li Mouquan, said that with the combined ages of the two elderly women nearing two hundred, they actually fought, leaving him speechless. He thought it was a "rare event in the world." Due to their solitary living arrangements, there were no neighbors nearby, otherwise, timely intervention might have prevented such an outcome. Li Mouquan stated that he and his two brothers were willing to cover the funeral expenses for Huang.
The police stated that all legal procedures would be followed.
Speaking about this case, Captain Zhuang of the Nanjing County Criminal Investigation Brigade said that in years of handling cases, this was the first time he encountered something like this. During the interrogation, Chen indeed admitted to accidentally killing someone.
"Currently, we've placed her under bail and are observing her at the hospital to see if there are any health issues," Captain Zhuang said. Although the woman is 99 years old, all legal procedures will still be followed without leniency due to her age.
Regarding this, lawyer Ye Qingrui from Fujian Jingwei Ming Law Firm said that although the Criminal Law Amendment (VIII) increased and clarified the leniency in handling cases involving the elderly, specifying that those over 75 who commit intentional crimes may receive lighter or reduced sentences, and those committing negligent crimes should receive lighter or reduced punishments. Those who are 75 or older at the time of trial will not be subject to the death penalty unless they use exceptionally cruel methods resulting in death. However, this does not mean that those over 75 are exempt from criminal responsibility. If those over 75 possess criminal capacity, they must still bear criminal responsibility for their crimes.