Legal lenience brings back 'dream life'

Separation and reunion

As a child, Yu often visited an autoparts factory owned by his mother to learn welding skills. After graduating high school, he was admitted to a junior college, but he abandoned his studies because he thought he would probably take over the factory.

"Life was quite simple and peaceful, so I thought my future would progress step-by-step — running the business and living comfortably," he said.

However, the family fell into financial trouble because of a lack of funds for the factory after a sharp rise in the price of the steel used to manufacture some components. That resulted in Su borrowing 1.35 million yuan ($193,000) from an illegal lender at a monthly interest rate of 10 percent.

The family house was mortgaged and they obtained funds from other people, but they still could not pay off the debt.

Eleven debt collectors barged into Su's office in the factory and held her and Yu hostage on April 14, 2016. They verbally abused Su, slapped her face and muffled her mouth with soft shoes, according to a report in Southern Weekly.

One of the debt collectors, Du Zhihao, even exposed himself to Su and verbally insulted her using "extreme language", the report said. It added that the police were summoned, but the officers didn't stop the abuse. Instead, they allowed the men to continue to demand payment.

After the police left, Yu lashed out randomly with a knife, injuring four people, including Du who was fatally wounded.

Yu was eventually sentenced to five years in prison, while his parents and older sister received prison terms ranging from three to four years for using the services of an illegal money lender.

The incident separated the family members and made Yu's name well-known among the public, including local residents and even inmates.

In prison, Yu helped oversee the supervision of prisoners, but he said that he was no different from the other inmates. "We all served sentences and were rehabilitated together," he said. At the end of 2019, Su was freed, and a couple of weeks later, Yu's sister was also released. On Nov 18, 2020, Yu left prison after being given time off for good behavior.