BEIJING: A Chinese fortune-teller who predicted he might die in his 50s has been killed by his mistress at the very same age.
The woman took her lover’s life by soaking his underwear with poison, leading to his body rotting.
The man, surnamed Zhou, who worked as a fortune-teller in Nanchong, Sichuan province in southwestern China, became critically ill and was hospitalised in May 2017, just before turning 60.
Despite extensive medical efforts, Zhou finally passed away, and a judicial examination confirmed that he had died from paraquat poisoning.
Paraquat is a highly toxic and fast-acting herbicide, known to be particularly harmful to the lungs, kidneys and liver when absorbed into the human body.
Zhou had once predicted: “In my 50s, I will face a life-and-death catastrophe”.
His family suspected he might have been murdered after his daughter, who had lived with him, discovered via a rat poison test that the cough syrup contained toxic substances.
This led his family to report the incident to the police, and after an investigation, authorities uncovered the involvement of his mistress, surnamed Jing.
In 2011, Jing’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Jing sought Zhou’s help, hoping he could “resolve her mother’s calamity”.
The couple later developed a romantic relationship, during which Zhou repeatedly made Jing pregnant and forced her to have abortions.
Although Jing repeatedly asked Zhou to marry her, he refused and even reconciled with his ex-wife.
To escape Jing, Zhou even lied about having cancer, hoping she would leave him.
However, Jing believed that Zhou had ruined her life and even threatened to jump from a building. Later she sought her revenge.
In May 2017, after researching the dangers of paraquat online, Jing mixed it into cough syrup and soaked four pairs of underwear with the poison, which she then handed over to Zhou.
After drinking the cough syrup, Zhou experienced sharp pain in his throat, and when he wore the poisoned underwear, his body began to rot.
Jing was sentenced to 14 years in prison for intentional homicide in September 2024.
Although she tried to have the verdict overturned, the Nanchong Intermediate People’s Court recently dismissed her appeal and upheld the original sentence.
The case, reported by Red Star News, has sparked a discussion on mainland social media.
One online observer said: “Making her undergo multiple abortions and still refusing to take responsibility. He is almost 60, and he should have accumulated more morals and good karma.”
“A fortune-teller made others have abortions. He did not even respect karma himself,” said another. - South China Morning Post
