China Daily Global Edition (USA)
For slain Hunan judge, integrity led to tragedy
On Jan 12, Zhou Chunmei, a judge and a mother of two, was found dead from multiple stab wounds in an underground parking lot at her home in Changsha, capital of Hunan province.
Local police arrived at the scene at around 7:30 am and detained a suspect, surnamed Xiang, who was an “old friend” of the victim, according to the police.
Later that day, the Hunan High People’s Court released a statement online saying that Zhou, a 45-yearold senior judge in the court, had been killed in a possible hate crime.
According to the court, Zhou was diligent, dedicated and firmly upheld the law during her 17 years of service.
As a veteran judge, she had been given more responsibility and participated in more than 1,100 civil cases over the past two years, an average of 1.5 per day.
A court staff member who was a close friend of Zhou’s described her as a good friend at work and a good mother at home.
“She was extremely meticulous and upright in her duties,” the friend said.
Yet, it was likely such integrity that led to the tragedy.
A preliminary investigation into the slaying conducted by the police showed Zhou, in her role as a judge, had refused to bend the law in a labor-related lawsuit that Xiang had filed in her court months ago.
A model judge, mother
Zhou was born and raised in the same mountainous town as Xiang in Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture in northwestern Hunan. After years of intense study, both women went to Xiangtan University, a key school in the province.
Zhou started her legal career in Changsha after earning her master’s degree in law in 2003. Those who knew her say that in the years that followed, she became an exemplary mother and a model judge.
“Zhou’s youngest daughter was a premature baby, and I remembered when she was on maternity leave, she asked us to send the case files to her so that she could work at home,” said Huang Li, who was Zhou’s assistant.
In 2014, Zhou was honored as the court’s annual case-handling expert. That year, she had handled more civil cases that any other judge in the court, and all of those cases were rated as excellent, meaning none exceeded the trial-time limit and none were remanded or overturned.
In 2016, Zhou was appointed as a deputy head of the trial supervision tribunal at the court, a key department that is mainly responsible for filing and hearing retrials.
Friend’s different path
Xiang had also gone to Changsha after graduation and started working for a local State-owned company until 2019. On March 11 that year, the company placed her in a new position. Because of her dissatisfaction with the role, Xiang beat a senior official at the company with a stick.
Xiang was placed on a 10-day administrative detention for the beating, and according to a court settlement, she had to pay the victim nearly 50,000 yuan ($7,700).
Two months later, the company, where Xiang had worked for almost 19 years, terminated her employment contract, leading her to sue to get her old job back.
The court ruled that Xiang could not regain her old position but that the company should pay her 52,000 yuan in compensation for the termination. Unsatisfied with the decision, she decided to appeal.
Her case was later passed to the court where Zhou worked.
Last year, when Xiang found that her “old friend” Zhou was a senior judge on the tribunal, which she saw as her last resort, she turned to her.
Traditionally, Chinese people tend to be more friendly to those who come from the same place, but sometimes, a few might misinterpret the value of such a bond.
An investigation by local prosecutors showed that on Sept 7, Xiang tried to give Zhou a box of fruit, in which she included 20,000 yuan and a gold bracelet.
Xiang assumed Zhou would help her win the lawsuit as they came from the same town, but Zhou refused and returned the money and bracelet.
Additionally, the high court upheld the lower court’s ruling, further angering Xiang and fueling her desire for revenge.
Eight days before Zhou’s slaying, Xiang got a job as a cleaner at the community where Zhou lived. Within days, Xiang learned Zhou’s exact address and about her daily routine.
At around 7 am on Jan 12, Zhou was walking through a narrow underground passage to get to her car in the parking lot and drive to work.
Xiang, who had known Zhou over the years, was lying in wait and allegedly stabbed her with a knife several times in the passage, which was near the security post but in a blind spot.
Xiang failed to escape after being restrained by people who raced to scene after hearing screams.
Further investigation Zhou’s death is ongoing.
In February, she was posthumously honored as an outstanding Communist Party of China member for her integrity and fidelity to the law and the people.
Her computer’s wallpaper displayed words that exemplified her philosophy: “Tell the truth, do practical things and adhere to integrity”. into