A Chinese murder suspect in order to avoid punishment has in turn been severely punished by his own actions. Mr. Zeng pretended to be partially mute for not few but 12 years and now has lost his power of speech because of underuse!

Zeng has now been apprehended after he managed to evade custody for those 12 years. He has been charged with the murder of his wife’s uncle in 2005 after a rent dispute. Zeng had stabbed the person to death for nonpayment of rent of 500 yuan (approximately 5000 rupees). After committing the crime Zeng left the village and went into another province. He begged for money and work, pretending to be mute all the while. He found himself a new job, changed his name, got married and even became a father.

The local police while doing the local surveys grew a little suspicious about his missing identity papers and now Zeng has been arrested. A blood test was done and used his DNA to find out his true identity. He was then handed over to the police. Even while interrogation Zeng wrote down as he could not speak. "By not speaking, I was not going to say anything stupid," Zeng told police in writing. His vocal chords were not used for so long and he ended up losing his voice.

Well, Zeng has received not one but two punishments now for his ‘not doing anything stupid.’ Not only has he lost his voice but also faces the charges of murder. If convicted in the case, he could face death because that is the maximum punishment for a murder charge in China.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 08, 2018 11:44 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).