Death of 5-year-old boy in Weihai sparks investigation
A suspected abnormal death of a 5-year-old boy, nicknamed Hanhan, in Weihai, Shandong Province, was reported to local police on March 26, according to a police announcement on Sunday.
Criminal detention measures were immediately taken against suspects surnamed Chen and Shi, the boy's mother and her boyfriend.
The 5-year-old boy Hanhan
The father of the boy, surnamed Zheng, revealed to chengdu.cn reporters on March 30 that following his divorce from his wife on February 19, his son lived with the mother, and his visitation requests were repeatedly denied.
On March 26, he received a sudden call from the police stating that his son had died, prompting him to rush to Wendeng Central Hospital.
Zheng recalled finding his son already stiff and covered in bruises on the emergency bed, with facial disfigurements, blood in his ears, and blisters on his head. The boy’s grandfather, Zheng Jianhua, described the child's face as marred with scratches and a dent in his chest, and the boy had wet his pants.
The boy and his father
Surveillance footage showed Hanhan being taken away by his mother, Chen, and a man on the evening of March 23, and waving goodbye to his grandparents.
From March 23 till his death on March 26, the child lived with his mother. Zheng suspected that the child was abused by Chen and her accomplice during this period, leading to his death.
On the morning of March 26, Chen and her boyfriend Shi took the child to the hospital, where the police apprehended them.
Zheng remembered his son as obedient and gentle, beloved by his kindergarten teachers and the village elders for his sensibility.
