The "half-immortal's" deceptive words, the husband's cruel hand

[2] Compiled from: The Paper, Red Star News
 
[3] In November 2017, a woman named Hu Juan from Yanshan County was taken by her husband Chen Long to a local "fortune teller" for "medical treatment." The fortune teller, Zhao Jiang, diagnosed her as "possessed by a snake spirit." To cure Hu Juan's "illness," Chen Long and his younger brother Chen Lai, following Zhao Jiang's instructions, whipped Hu Juan with a leather whip, resulting in her death.
 
[4] The People's Court of Yanshan County, Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, ultimately issued a verdict in the "fortune teller murder case." The judgment stated that Zhao Jiang, Chen Long, and Chen Lai were all guilty of intentional injury, receiving sentences of 13 years, 12 years, and 2 years and 2 months, respectively.
 

 
 

Case review
[5] Initially, Hu Juan's children had gastrointestinal issues, but instead of taking them to a hospital, their father Chen Long brought the whole family to Zhao Jiang. Zhao Jiang was a well-known local "fortune teller," specializing in "various difficult diseases, external calamities, and feng shui."
 
[6] However, it turned out that Zhao Jiang was not only illiterate but also had a criminal record for picking quarrels and provoking trouble and illegal possession of firearms. After Zhao Jiang's "diagnosis," he identified the "root cause"—the children's poor health stemmed from Hu Juan. Zhao Jiang claimed that Hu Juan was possessed by a "snake spirit" and had contracted a "phantom illness." More absurdly, her husband Chen Long firmly believed this.
 
From November 18 to November 27, 2017, Chen Molong took Hu Mojuan to Zhao Mojiang's home every day to treat Hu Mojuan's "imaginary illness." While "treating" her, Zhao Mojiang pinched the back of Hu Mojuan's neck with his hand and struck her legs and back with an axe.
 
On November 24, Chen Molong called his younger brother Chen Molai back from Beijing.
 
Around midnight on November 27, Chen Molong bound Hu Mojuan's arms in front of her with a belt, grabbed her hair, and together with Chen Molai, who carried a triangular belt, drove to Zhao Mojiang's home. Following Zhao Mojiang's instructions, Chen Molong made a whip from a triangular belt and a wooden stick at Zhao's home, then repeatedly whipped Hu Ruijuan's back and legs to "treat" her. During the whipping, Chen Molai held Hu Mojuan to prevent her from struggling.
 
Around 4:00 PM that day, Hu Mojuan died. Forensic examination determined that Hu Mojuan died of traumatic shock caused by repeated blunt force strikes.
 
The day after Hu Mojuan's death, Chen Molong and Chen Molai were criminally detained by Yanshan police on suspicion of intentional injury. On the third day after Hu Mojuan's death, Zhao Mojiang was placed under residential surveillance by Yanshan police on suspicion of intentional injury.
 
 
The trial process
On February 27, 2019, the case was first heard in Yanshan County Court. During the trial, Zhao Moujiang claimed he was ill and unable to continue. On May 5 of the same year, the case continued to be heard in Yanshan County People's Court.

 

In the second trial, Zhao Moujiang refused to plead guilty, and his defense attorney argued for his innocence. The defense attorneys for Chen Moulong and Chen Moulai argued that the Chen brothers did not constitute intentional injury, and their actions fit the circumstances of "using superstition to deceive others, causing death."
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
The Yanshan County Court held that when Zhao Moujiang was treating Hu Moujuan for a "false illness," he struck her back and legs with an axe and instructed Chen Moulong to whip her. Chen Moulong, under Zhao's direction, whipped Hu's back and legs. During the whipping, Chen Moulai held Hu to prevent her from struggling. Subsequently, after prolonged and repeated whipping, Hu died. The actions of the three defendants constituted the crime of intentional injury.
 
The actions of the three defendants did not meet the objective elements of causing death through superstition. The objective element of causing death through superstition is when the perpetrator uses feudal superstition to deceive others, causing the deceived person to engage in fasting, self-harm, self-abuse, or preventing the patient from receiving normal treatment, leading to death.
 
On October 26, the Yanshan County Court issued a first-instance verdict, finding Zhao Moujiang, Chen Moulong, and Chen Moulai guilty of intentional injury, sentencing them to 13 years, 12 years, and 2 years and 2 months in prison, respectively.
 
Currently, Hu Moujuan's parents believe that the sentences imposed by the Yanshan County Court on Zhao Moujiang, Chen Moulong, and Chen Moulai are clearly too lenient, and they have requested the Cangzhou Intermediate People's Court to file a protest.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
The ridiculous thing is, according to local villagers: "Ever since that 'Great Immortal Zhao' fell from grace, the business of nearby 'Fairy Zhao' and 'Half-Immortal Liu' has actually gotten better. That 'Fairy Zhao' was originally just a village woman; she claimed that while working in the kitchen one day, she was possessed by a weasel, and from then on, she could treat illnesses." It is worth noting that in many rural areas of China, weasels are regarded as "Great Immortal Huang," which shows that many people in rural areas still believe in ghosts and gods.
 
Hu Moujuan appeared to die at the hands of her husband, but in reality, she fell in a pool of blood caused by feudal superstition. Chen Moulong, as a person with full civil capacity, would he not know that such beatings constitute intentional harm, even causing death? But "Great Immortal Zhao" filled his ears with nonsense, seemingly blinding his eyes, making him naively believe that whipping his wife could cure his children's illnesses.
 
The most tragic part is not just this; such cases are by no means isolated in our country. From creating crooked doctrines to brainwash, to using feudal superstition to defraud money and sex, such cases are common. Every time we see them, besides anger, we feel more regret.
 
In recent years, our country has continuously proposed enriching the spiritual and cultural lives of farmers and resisting feudal superstition. The author believes that enriching the spiritual and cultural lives of farmers is one aspect, but what should be more urgently addressed is improving the low quality of our population. Only by raising cultural quality and establishing legal ideology can we form correct values and resist the evil forces of feudal superstition.