Family's Resolve To Honor Dead Relative's Last Wish Ended Up In Murder Of Man With Down's Syndrome

A family's ploy to sidestep China's ban on traditional burial took a devious course after the man they hired to procure a body in order to swap with that of their deceased relative, kidnapped and murdered a person with Down's syndrome, a court heard on Tuesday.

The Chinese court has upheld a suspended death sentence for the convicted man, identified by his surname Huang, for abducting, killing and selling the body of 36-year-old Lin Shaoren.

A rich family from Lufeng, Guangdong province, reportedly hired Huang in 2017 to obtain a body that could be cremated in place of their relative's corpse. The deceased man, who died of cancer, had requested a traditional burial before his death. However, a ban on traditional burials was already in place. To circumvent the ban and honor their loved one's last wish, the family arranged for the body swap, court records said as per South China Morning Post.

Huang kidnapped Lin while the latter was picking rubbish along the road on March 1, 2017. According to court documents, Huang made the victim drink a large volume of alcohol until he passed out. He then placed an unconscious Lin inside the coffin and sealed it using four steel nails, the court heard.

Two days later, Lin's coffin was handed over to the wealthy family, who then sent it to the funeral home for cremation as if it was their relative's corpse. The family then secretly took their relative's body to a secluded area and gave him a traditional burial, while Lin's body ended up being cremated.

According to court records, the family paid a total of 107,000 yuan ($16,300) for the deal. The accused got 90,000 yuan and the remaining 17,000 yuan went to a middleman who has since died.

Lin was listed as a missing person for two years. It was only in November 2019 that his family learned about his demise. The police had used surveillance video evidence to solve his case.

Although the murder happened in 2017, the case gained wide media attention last week following the release of a local article citing deeds families are willing to commit just to get around the government's ban on traditional burials, BBC News said in a report.

Chinese officials have been promoting cremation to save land for other uses. Cremation is also believed to be more environmentally friendly. However, traditional burials remain popular in the country as many people still believe it's the only way the departed ones will be at peace.