Filled with guilt, he decided to end his difficult life in hiding after 30 years on the run. But upon voluntarily turning himself into the authorities, he made the least expected of discoveries. He had no criminal record and neither was the police looking for him.
One day in 2020, a middle-aged man filled with the vicissitudes of life appeared at a police station in Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province. He walked in cautiously, his eyes revealing inner remorse and guilt.
This man, surnamed Li, firmly told the police that he had committed a crime and wanted to surrender. Officers were immediately alert, believing that he had committed a serious crime. They stole themselves to approach with caution.
That’s when they got the surprise of their lives.
They could not find any information about Li’s involvement in any active case nor his name on any list of fugitives. They were stumped. How could a person on the run for 30 years have no criminal record?
The explanation, it turns out, is a prime example of life’s ups and downs spiralling to become a perfect storm of coincidence and presumption, as the online media portal, 163.com, exposed today, 12 September.
Li was from a typical rural family, living a simple and unpretentious life. But with little in the way of educational resources, Li’s academic performance was not ideal and he gradually lost his way in life.
Befriending others in much the same situation, their group was attracted to explore the darker corners of their city together. They lived unfettered lives full of excitement and uncertainty.
With his understanding of the law extremely limited, Li was fearful and uneasy when it came to the police. He mistakenly believed that any involvement with the police would lead to trouble and punishment. He was continually walking on eggshells.
The fateful day was to come when Li was invited by his colleagues to attend a banquet to celebrate his promotion to workshop leader.
Toasting Li a couple of times too many, one of his colleagues accidentally knocked over a drink on a neighbouring table on his way to the bathroom. It turned out the table’s occupants were mafia. While Li and his colleagues made their polite apologies and paid for the spilt drink, they also made a hasty departure from the restaurant.
But then those at the next table did what they do best; they knew where Li and his colleague lived.
When the gang turned up, a physical fight broke out, during which one the gangsters appeared to fall the the ground. Li feared, wrongly, that his blow had in fact been fatal.
Early the next morning, when Li slowly woke up from his sleep, his mind still a little confused, he heard the sound of police sirens outside. He put two and two together and got “arrest for murder”.
Packing a few belongings, Li immediately fled to the mountains and began a hard life of survival in the wild, relying on river water and fruit to sustain him. He would spend a whole month living in this fashion.
Convinced finally that the police search was over, he ventured back down the slopes to find a black coal kiln which was recruiting workers. In order to avoid police pursuit, Li figured his only option was to resolutely choose to dig coal.
Many more years of odd jobs at construction sites and other places to make a living were to follow, and Li never slept a peaceful night. No longer able to bear the life of anxiety and guilt, Li made up his mind to voluntarily surrender.
When Li made his confession to the police about what had happened over the years, an investigation was launched and Li held in remand. Finally, police were able to trace the retired officer who was responsible for looking in to the incident 3 decades prior.
The retired policeman was able to reveal the truth; the gangster who fell to the ground in the fight that Li thought he had perhaps murdered did so out of being afraid he might be hurt.
Li never had reason to be a fugitive. His elderly parents no longer alive and his household registration (“hukou”) cancelled, with the help of the police, Li’s 30-year ordeal came to an end when he made successful contact with what remained of his family.
