Before Zeng Qi's accident, residents of a community in Zhengzhou where he lived could always see him. Zeng Qi, who was born in 1960, likes to pick up garbage for money, and occasionally likes to play with children in the community. The disability certificate shows that he is an intellectual disability of the first degree.
Aunt Hong, who lives in the same community, has a "post-00s" niece Huihui, who lived with Aunt Hong when she was 2 years old and regarded her as her own daughter. Hui Hui suffers from cerebral palsy, which is a third-degree intellectual disability. Aunt Hong said that she had seen Zeng Qi talking to Hui Hui many times in the community, and had physical contact, and she had told Hui Hui to ignore Zeng Qi.
On the evening of March 18, 2022, Hui Hui ran out of the house by herself, and Aunt Hong saw Zeng Qi and Hui Hui together when she was looking for Hui Hui. She suspected that Huihui was "bullied", so she grabbed Zeng Qi and called the police, and also called her husband Chen Cong. After that, Chen Cong beat Zeng Qi at the south gate of the community, and some onlookers said that Zeng Qi was "stealing children", and many onlookers beat Zeng Qi again.
The south gate of the community where the incident occurred
Zeng Qi was later confirmed to have suffered a head injury caused by trauma, constituting a second-degree disability. Megumi was found to have sperm spots in her pants, but they could not be identified because of the minimal residue. Whether Zeng Qi was indecent or not, the police have not yet made any further determination. A police officer from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, who was in charge of handling the case, said that the specific details of the case could not be disclosed.
But Zeng Qi was beaten and led to a case of intentional injury. Last year, the Huiji District People's Court in Zhengzhou sentenced Chen Cong and three other passers-by who had beaten Zeng Qi at the time of the incident to prison terms ranging from five to three years for intentional injury. All parties were dissatisfied with the judgment and appealed to the Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court. It is reported that the verdict has not yet been pronounced after the second-instance trial of this case began.
On May 11, a judge at the Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court said that they were also concerned about the case and would hear it fairly and impartially.
01 "disappeared" for more than an hour
Born in 2002, Hui Hui is the daughter of Aunt Hong's sister, her biological parents divorced when she was 2 years old, and Aunt Hong decided to raise her niece, and has always regarded Hui Hui as her biological daughter.
When Hui Hui was 4 years old, Aunt Hong noticed that she was unsteady and slow to react. Later, Huihui was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and was later assessed as a third-level intellectual disability.
Ten years ago, Aunt Hong's family moved to their current community. Aunt Hong said that when Hui Hui was ill, she would throw things downstairs at home, and she generally did not dare to leave Hui Hui for too long.
On the afternoon of March 18, 2022, Aunt Hong went to the hospital to see a doctor, and her husband Chen Cong took care of the business of the store, so she had to leave Huihui at home alone. At around 8:30 that night, Aunt Hong returned home only to find that Huihui was missing, she went out to look for it, and at the same time called Chen Cong and dialed 110 to call the police.
"I found that at around 9:50 p.m., I found Huihui at the elevator entrance of Unit 2 of Building 1, and she was with Zeng Qi at the time." Aunt Hong said that when she saw Hui Hui in disheveled clothes, her first reaction was that Zeng Qi "bullied" Hui Hui, so she pulled Zeng Qi to the vicinity of the south gate of the community and called the police again.
Zeng Qi had a high fever when he was more than 1 year old and developed intellectual disability and has not been married. Sister Zeng Li said that in 2018, Zeng Qi was recognized as a first-class intellectual disability by the Wuyang County Disabled Persons' Federation in his hometown, Luohe City. After his mother died a few years ago, Zeng Qi lived with his sister. In Zeng Li's eyes, although her brother has a first-class intellectual disability, he can usually walk around the community, and will go to the trash can to pick up bottles and cans to sell waste products, and will not hurt others.
A number of property personnel and residents in the community reported that Zeng Qi had approached children several times in the community. Three years ago, a little girl was found sitting on Zeng Qi's lap, and the girl's father immediately called the police when he saw it.
Zeng Li did not deny this. She said that her brother's intellectual development is the same as that of children, and he usually likes to play with children. But Zeng Li doesn't think her brother will attempt to sexually assault her, "He sometimes calls his neighbor in his 30s uncle." ”
But in Aunt Hong's opinion, Zeng Qi's attempt is not so simple. "I found the two of them at the elevator entrance on the first floor of Unit 2 of Building 1, and I have the impression that the two of them are holding hands."
Aunt Hong said that in addition to being able to go upstairs, the elevator can also go to the basement. "I judged that he was violating Megumi in the basement."
Aunt Hong said that she found Hui Hui and Zeng Qi together at the elevator entrance that night
02 was rumored to be "stealing children" and was beaten
A camera near the south gate of the neighborhood recorded what happened between 9:50 and 10:15 p.m. that night.
The Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau once issued a more detailed explanation of the monitoring: at 9:51:28 that night, Aunt Hong pulled Zeng Qi to the monitoring range of the south gate of the community, and a community security guard rushed to the scene; At 51 minutes and 43 seconds, Chen Cong rode an electric car to the south gate of the community and beat Zeng Qi in the face...... At 59 minutes and 50 seconds, Chen Cong continued to beat Zeng Qi on the head......
More people then gathered near the south gate of the community to watch, and some people rumored that Zeng Qi was "stealing children". This is also recorded in relevant legal documents.
"There were a lot of people at the time, and I don't know who started saying that [he was] stealing children." Aunt Hong said that she told people around her that Zeng Qi might have molested Huihui, but did not say that he "stole children".
There are many restaurants outside the south gate of the community. That night, Ah Feng, Ah Zhe, Ah Biao, and Ah Bing ate and drank here.
Ah Feng was the first to arrive when he heard the news, and when he heard someone say that this person was "stealing children", he took action.
Surveillance video shows that starting at 10:00:46 that night, Ah Feng continued to slap Zeng Qi...... At 2 minutes and 54 seconds, Ah Feng beat Zeng Qi's head, and Zeng Qi's head hit the ground...... At 5 minutes and 42 seconds, Ah Zhe kicked Zeng Qi's head continuously with his foot...... At 13 minutes and 47 seconds, Ah Biao kicked Zeng Qi and left with the others......
After that, the police from the police station in the jurisdiction rushed to the scene. Zeng Qi, Aunt Hong, Hui Hui and others went to the police station together.
Zeng Li said that on the night of the incident, she thought her brother was asleep and did not know what happened that night. On the afternoon of the next day, Zeng Li received a call from the police of the police station in the jurisdiction, saying that Zeng Qi was taken to the police station for investigation on suspicion of indecency, and he could be brought back because there was no progress for the time being.
Zeng Li said that she saw that her brother's face was covered in bruises and blood, so she called 120 to take him to the hospital.
The preliminary diagnosis of Zeng Qi after receiving treatment from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University showed that Zeng Qi had traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage AIS-2, left frontotemporal parietal subdural hemorrhage, frontoparial lobe cerebral contusion, left nasal bone fracture, left orbital fracture, and left maxillary sinus fracture......
Zeng Qi was admitted to the ICU for observation and treatment on March 21 of that year, and underwent "intracranial hematoma removal + bone flap decompression" on the same day.
03 Sperm spots that belong to no one can be detected
According to the first-instance verdict of the Zhengzhou Huiji District People's Court, after the incident on the evening of March 18, 2022, the police of the Changxing Road Police Station extracted Huihui's underwear and vaginal swabs, and handed over the extracts to the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau for processing. Later, the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center identified the extracted samples, and issued an appraisal opinion on June 29 of the same year that only human sperm spots were detected at the suspicious spots on the crotch of Huihui's underwear submitted for testing, and no STR typing was detected.
After consulting with the appraiser, "human sperm spots were detected at the suspicious spots on the crotch of the underwear submitted for testing, and no STR typing was detected, that is, prostatic fluid was made, which did not contain sperm or contained sperm but the amount was very small, which did not meet the detection standards, and STR typing was not detected......"
An assisted reproductive doctor at a tertiary hospital in Beijing told the Red Star News reporter that "no STR typing was detected" indicated that the sample size was not enough to determine the belonging of the test object.
The day after the appraisal opinion was issued, the Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau issued a decision to place Zeng Qi under residential surveillance, and Zeng Qi was released on bail pending trial half a year later. On December 30 last year, Zeng Qi was released on bail pending trial. Zeng Li believes that there is no evidence that her brother committed indecency.
What happened to Megumi's absence for more than an hour? This is a question that both Zeng Li and Aunt Hong want to figure out.
Aunt Hong found that there are two elevators in Unit 2 of Building 1 in the community, and the elevator car is equipped with monitoring. Zeng Li said she had seen surveillance video in the courthouse. "The two of them didn't even get out of the elevator door at that time, and after walking into the elevator, they stayed for a few minutes and then walked out, where did they get the time to go to the basement to be molested?"
A lawyer representing Chen Cong and others also saw the surveillance video in the court, but his statement was different from Zeng Li's. He said the video showed Zeng Qi and Hui Hui entering the elevator that night and getting out of the elevator after reaching the basement. Nearly an hour later, the two took the elevator from the basement to the first floor together.
The basement of the complex
On May 11, the Red Star News reporter saw in the basement of Unit 2 of Building 1 in the community where the incident occurred that the basement was relatively dark and there was no surveillance.
Aunt Hong said that the police have not yet reached a conclusion on Zeng Qi's suspected indecent assault case, and the police handling the case had previously told her that the case had not progressed because Zeng Qi could not be interrogated.
A police officer from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau, who was in charge of the case, told the Red Star News reporter that the specific details of the case could not be disclosed for the time being.
04 Brought out a "case of intentional injury"
Chen Cong, as well as Ah Zhe, Ah Feng, Ah Biao and others, were later prosecuted by the procuratorate for intentional injury. On March 10 last year, the Zhengzhou Huiji District People's Court pronounced a verdict in the first instance of the case involving intentional injury involving A Zhe and A Feng, with A Feng guilty of intentional injury and sentenced to 4 years in prison, and A Zhe guilty of intentional injury and sentenced to 3 years in prison.
The court held that after Ah Feng arrived at the scene, he still beat Zeng Qi 20 times when intercepted by security guards. After Ah Zhe arrived, he kicked Zeng Qi in the vital part. Although it was determined that Ah Feng surrendered voluntarily and Ah Zhe made meritorious contributions, the two defendants' subjective intent was obvious, and the attack was relatively serious, and the victim had not recovered and been discharged from the hospital until trial, and the harm caused was obvious, and the punishment was not to be mitigated, and only lenient consideration was given.
On November 9 last year, the court pronounced the first-instance verdict in the case of Chen Cong and A Biao involved in intentional injury. According to the verdict, Chen Cong committed the crime of intentional injury and was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and A Biao committed the crime of intentional injury and was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. The judgment attached a civil compensation part, requiring Chen Cong, A Biao, A Feng, A Zhe, and A Bing to compensate Zeng Qi 498,941.71 yuan.
According to the verdict, after investigation, Zeng Qi and Hui Hui both had intellectual disabilities, and before the crime, the two went in and out of the basement together for nearly an hour. Aunt Hong, as Huihui's guardian, has been looking for a long time, and when she saw Zeng Qi walking with Huihui, she suspected that she was bullied and was human; Chen Cong received a call and rushed to the scene, and beat Zeng Qi in righteous indignation, and his subjective malice was relatively light; Ah Feng, Ah Zhe, Ah Biao and others heard that Zeng Qi was bullying the girl, so they stepped forward and beat her. At this time, Zeng Qi had fallen to the ground and had no ability to resist or escape, so Ah Feng, Ah Zhe, A Biao and others were directly responsible for the expansion of Zeng Qi's injuries; Human sperm spots were detected on the crotch of Huihui's underwear, so there was a fact that she was sexually assaulted by a man.
The judgment also mentioned that this case was caused by a civil dispute, and Chen Cong injured the victim out of righteous indignation to protect his niece, and the subjective malice was relatively small; The circumstances of Chen Cong and A Biao's beatings were slightly lighter than those of co-defendants A Feng, A Zhe and others, and they may be given lighter punishments as appropriate.
After the first-instance verdict, the parties were dissatisfied with the verdict and appealed. The Red Star News reporter learned that the second instance of the above case has been tried in court, but the verdict has not been announced.
On May 4 last year, Henan Yicheng Judicial Appraisal Center issued a judicial appraisal opinion to Zeng Qi, showing that after evaluation, Zeng Qi's trauma caused a craniocerebral injury, constituting a second-degree disability. Zeng Li said that in her appeal, she asked for a longer sentence for the beater, and at the same time demanded that the beater pay nearly 2 million yuan in compensation for medical expenses and nutrition expenses.
Chen Cong, A Biao, A Zhe, and A Fengfang believed that the punishment in the first instance was too severe. Ah Biao's mother said that although they did it, it is still doubtful whether they did it caused Zeng Qi's craniotomy. This is raised because the surveillance video also shows that a man holding a suspected kettle and striking Zeng Qi several times.
This was also mentioned in the court's judgment of first instance. According to the verdict, the surveillance video showed that at 22:15:05 that day, a man with an unknown object hit Zeng Qi three times. According to the verdict's explanation of the surveillance video, Ah Biao, Ah Zhe, A Feng and others had left at this time.
Zeng Li also said that she had seen the surveillance video at the time of the incident, and after Ah Biao and the others left, a man did hit his brother on the head three times with something in his hand.
The Red Star News reporter saw from this video that after A Biao and others left, Chen Cong and others controlled Zeng Qi and other police arrivals, and a man hit Zeng Qi many times, but the specific part of the blow could not be seen in the video.
Zeng Li, Aunt Hong and others said that they had reported the situation to the public procuratorate and law enforcement organs, and they could not confirm the identity of this person at present. A police officer from the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Huiji Branch of the Zhengzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau, who was in charge of handling the case, said that they could not disclose the details of the case.
In addition, Aunt Hong and others also questioned whether Zeng Qi constituted a first-class intellectual disability, and submitted an application to the Wuyang County Disabled Persons' Federation for a re-appraisal of his disability certificate, and the Disabled Persons' Federation issued a document requesting Zeng Qi to go to the hospital for a re-evaluation. But Zeng Li said that at present, her brother is unable to get out of bed at all.
Zeng Li can only stay by her bedridden brother every day
05 "isolated" men and girls in care
On May 11, a Red Star News reporter met Zeng Qi. After returning home from the hospital early last year, Zeng Qi has been bedridden for almost a long time, with an obvious depression on the left side of his head, and his urine and urine are leaning on the diapers on the bed.
Zeng Li, who did not accept the first-instance verdict, has not yet accepted compensation from the relevant parties. She said that after the verdict of the first instance was pronounced last year, some defendants transferred the compensation to the court, and the court also hoped to use the money for treatment first, but she insisted that she did not ask for it, and after the incident, she also lost her financial resources, and now she mainly relies on borrowing from relatives and friends to survive.
After the incident two years ago, Zeng Li felt that she and her brother were "isolated" by many residents in the community. In the owner group of the community, the Red Star News reporter noticed that some residents had described Zeng Qi's strange behavior and called him a "hooligan grandfather".
On May 11, a staff member of the Zhengzhou Intermediate People's Court, who was in charge of the second-instance trial of the case, contacted Zeng Li, saying that the case would be handled fairly and justly, and suggested that Zeng Li accept compensation from the defendant to ease the financial pressure, but Zeng Li still refused.
Aunt Hong still runs the family's small shop, and most of the time she takes Huihui with her. In order to prevent them from running out again, cameras and electronic door locks are specially installed at home, and there will be a prompt sound every time they enter and exit, and at the same time, the prompt information will be sent to the family's mobile phone.
On the evening of May 11, Aunt Hong rode an electric car, and Huihui sat in the back seat and followed Aunt Hong to take care of the shop.
Zeng Qi wetted the bed again, and Zeng Li, who was guarding the bedside, picked up the mop and wiped the urine that had flowed on the ground.
At the south gate of the community, parents lead their children in and out after school, and night shift security guards line up in a row to prepare for another day of night shift.
(At the request of the interviewee, the names of the interviewees involved in this article have been changed)
Red Star News reporter Fu Yao and intern Shi Zixiao report from Zhengzhou, Henan
Editor: He Xianxian, Editor-in-charge: Deng Minguang
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