You would think you would be safe enough going out for dinner with someone you know. Or rather, knew. For one man in Nanjing is now dead on account of the actions of his drunk dining companion, struck by a bottle of wine no less.
At 23:52 this Monday, 11 April, Nanjing Police received a call from a member of the public on their general enquiries line that is 110, reporting that someone was drunk and fighting at a food stall.
Police were further informed that the location of the incident was Huaiqing Qiao in Nanjing’s Qinhuai District, reports The Paper. Huaiqing Qiao lies off Longpan Lu a little south of Baixia Lu, i.e. not far from the visa office, with which many alert readers will be familiar.
Officers dispatched to the scene were quickly able to identify the assailant and make a subsequent arrest at the presumed murderer’s home.
It further transpired that the suspect, a 56 year old surnamed Zheng, had been dining with the victim, a 39 year old surnamed Zhao, plus several others, at a local late-night eatery.
Zheng was said to be intoxicated when a dispute between him and Zhao broke out, during which Zheng hit Zhao with a bottle of wine. It was a fatal blow.
While there has been no word of just whereabout on his body Zhao received the blow, it is thought to have been to the head.
In an opinion piece published yesterday on NetEase, it is said that many internet users believe the murder to be the result of the popularity of TV dramas. Therein, it is commonplace to see people smashed over the head with a wine bottle and there being apparently little effect.
In real life, the opinion piece claims, an empty bottle will generally break when hitting a human skull since the latter is very hard. But if the bottle is unopened, death would be the likely result.
China’s criminal law stipulates that an intoxicated person bears the same responsibility for any crime committed as that of any sober individual. As such, Zheng therefore has no defence. The case is under further investigation.
