How can this story be anymore weirder?
An escape suspected murderer who had evaded capture for 12 years by pretending to be a mute has allegedly lost his ability to speak, Chinese media recently reported.
The Chinese man, identified only by his surname ‘Zheng’, had been charged with murdering his wife’s uncle, a Mr Cao, in a dispute over a 500 yuan ($76) rent, back in 2005. It was a heated argument that ‘Zheng’ allegedly stabbed Mr Cao then ran away from home. The runaway suspect obtained his new identity with a fake name that goes by Wang Gui and started pretending to be a mute beggar in order to make ends meet.
Zheng eventually settled into his new life by working in construction and have a new wife and fathered a child. All this while being mute as he’s scared he would blow his own cover.
Unfortunately for Zheng, his 12 years of self-imposed silence couldn’t help him during a household survey conducted by police, earlier this year. The authority took an account to further investigate him after his lack of identification papers made the police took a sample of his blood and use his DNA to check who he is. That is where the 12-year escape finally has ended for Zheng.
According to the Zhejiang Daily newspaper, the man’s vocal chords had wasted away due to lack of use over such a long period of time and had eventually become useless. It’s unclear whether Zheng’s muteness can be reversed, but that may not matter too much, as he faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the murder he allegedly committed 12 years ago.