A boy student died a violent death in a dorm building in a financial college in northern China, according to state media reports. Authorities say it was a suicide, a call that has drawn skepticism on social media.
On March 23, bloody images were circulated online involving a boy lying on the ground on his belly at the Zhengzhou Institute of Finance and Economics in Henan province. The scene was unbearably brutal.
On March 24, the college’s publicity department expressed that the male lying in blood in one of the images was a sophomore from their school and was “somewhat under depression.” School authorities determined that the case is “an alleged act of self-harm” after preliminary investigation, according to China’s news portal Sohu.
On March 25, the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau issued a notice, claiming that the incident was a suicide, and eliminated the possibility of homicide. It also called on the public to refrain from spreading rumors about the death.
However, official accounts drew wide suspicion on social media.
A netizen with the name of “Internet User from Mars” said on NetEase: “Stabbing one’s own neck. What nonsense.”
“It can’t be killing himself,” another netizen responded. “Must be a fight between fellow students over a grudge. The school purposefully calls it a self-killing to fend for its reputation.”
A social media Weibo user “The Sky Is Darkening” expressed: “Mainstream society is inclined to distance you from such violent incidents. However, an innocent person will have to pay the cost of his life to maintain social harmony. This shows the evil of the whole society.”
Source: Dorm Fight Escalates into Bloodshed
In an interview with the Chinese-language Epoch Times, a source revealed details behind the death.“At first it was a joke, though there was disharmony among roommates in the dorm,” he recalled.
Soon afterward, it evolved into a physical conflict.
According to the source, the fight moved from a big dorm to another dorm, involving five or six students. Some had slight injuries.
“The roommates were pulled apart and the fight ended. However, later, one of the guys went into a fury and picked up a knife and stabbed the victim.”
As to why school administrators lied about the death, the source thought they wished to downplay the tragic event.
It was rumored online that administrators were worried that the accident would hurt the confidence of would-be students in their school.
The Epoch Times cannot identify the statement independently.
“Nobody dares to report [the truth]. Whistleblowers are afraid to invite trouble to themselves. Now that the family of the victim don’t hold a sign to protest, negotiations might be underway between them,” said the source.
The source also expressed that violence does occur in the school, and that administrators always use all possible tools to block bad news and minimize its after-effect.
“Not clear how many get killed or raped in a year,” the informant continued. “It’s a common thing to hush up a death or a rape [in the school]. In some cases, [school authorities] will promise you an opportunity to be admitted to a master’s degree program without having to take an entrance examination like other candidates. So, no truths will come out. This could be called an unspoken rule in the college—all administrators join the coverup. After all, the school is rich and powerful and can say whatever it likes.”
“Local media outlets in the city of Zhengzhou take hush money, too,” the source added.
