Man in China allegedly killed his two children by throwing them out the window so he could start a 'new family'
Man in China allegedly killed his two children by throwing them out the window so he could start a 'new family'
A man in western China’s Chongqing municipality allegedly killed his two young children by throwing them out of his high-rise apartment so he could start a ‘new family’, legal documents published online on Friday revealed.
Zhang Bo, who was detained by police in December last year, a month after the children’s death, has been charged with murder and will appear in court later this month.
The man’s motivation for the alleged murder of his son aged one and daughter aged two, was because his girlfriend would not marry him unless he got rid of them, the documents revealed.
Zhang’s girlfriend, Ye Chengchen, “didn’t want Zhang to have children of his own blood”, the ex-wife, Chen Meilin, was quoted as saying.
Ye had pressured the man by cutting her own wrists in a suicide attempt, Chen also claimed.
Ye was also arrested and charged with murder. The case will be heard at a Chongqing court later this month.
PHOTO: South China Morning Post
The children were allegedly thrown from a window of Zhang’s home on the 14th floor of a residential building in the city on Nov 2, last year.
It was initially considered an accident as Zhang, who was the only person with them at the time, claimed he was asleep when it happened.
He said he only woke up and realised what had happened after hearing people shouting downstairs. The children landed on a lawn and died.
After the incident, Zhang was seen racing down the building without shoes, crying beside the children, and hitting his head on the wall, according to previous reports by local media.
But he later admitted to the police that he and Ye plotted their death because they wanted to have their own family without any children from his former marriage around, according to the indictment.
While still married, Zhang pretended to be single and started a romantic relationship with Ye in 2019. He divorced Chen in February last year after reaching an agreement that Chen would raise the daughter while he would raise the son until he was 6 years old.
The girl was invited to her father’s home to play with her younger brother the day before she fell, the indictment said.
When Zhang’s mother, the primary carer for his son, left home, the man held both children and threw them outside the window together, it said.
Chen accused Zhang of being an irresponsible father before the killing, claiming that he seldom hugged his daughter and never bothered to learn how to change nappies. “It felt like she was not his child,” she told the China Youth Daily.
SINGAPORE HELPLINES
- Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444
- Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
- Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin): 1800-353-5800
- Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222
- Silver Ribbon: 6386-1928
This article was first published in South China Morning Post.
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