In what has to be one of the most bizarre jealousy-fueled crimes in recent memory, a 60-year-old man from Songyuan City in Jilin Province, China, attacked his wife because she got a discount on pork.
According to reports, the man, identified only as Zou, became convinced that his wife, Zhao, was having an affair with their local butcher, and the reason?
She’d been paying a little less for her meat lately.
Zou and Zhao had been married for over 30 years and were known in their neighborhood as a quiet, stable couple. But earlier this year, Zou noticed that Zhao kept coming home from the butcher’s shop smiling and paying less than usual.
He became obsessed with the idea that the butcher was giving her a special rate for more than just customer loyalty.
Zou then reportedly hid a wooden-handled single-edged knife in their bedroom drawer, waiting for the right moment. When Zhao came home from shopping one evening, the suspicion finally boiled over. Zou accused her of cheating and then stabbed her multiple times, inflicting serious injuries to her abdomen and internal organs.
Zhao later told police,
“I had no idea how many times he stabbed me. I just remember seeing the knife and the blood.”
What’s bizarre is that, despite nearly dying, Zhao forgave her husband. She refused to file a formal complaint or even undergo an injury evaluation, which could have led to heavier charges.
“We’ve been married for more than 30 years,” she told investigators.
“He has always brought his money home and worked hard for the family. I don’t want to make this worse. We still have our son and grandson.”
I think her plea for leniency likely influenced the court’s decision.
The Songyuan Ningjiang District People’s Court found Zou guilty of intentional attempted murder but imposed a relatively light sentence, which is 10 years and 6 months in prison, citing his confession, remorse, and the couple’s long marriage as mitigating factors.
“The act constituted deliberate murder,” the court said in its ruling. “However, given his confession and the domestic nature of the dispute, a reduced sentence was appropriate.”
Treating one price cut as a smoking gun is exactly the kind of thing that fuels violence. Most people would say they should communicate openly, but talking more doesn’t stop someone who’s already fixated on a violent action.
The real problem in this case wasn’t a lack of a heart-to-heart; it was an escalating mental state that turned suspicion into premeditated harm. I mean, the guy hid a knife and attacked.
THE WHY: PARANOIA
4/5 stars for this story because turning a pork discount into proof of infidelity is next-level mistrust.
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