Whenever someone commits a crime and gets caught, he or she will have to face the due punishment depending on the severity of the crime. Once found guilty, it is almost impossible for that individual to escape the penalty as the authorities have to abide by the law and the decision of the court.
However, what happens if the authorities are the parents of the convict?
Almost 30 years ago, a man identified as Sun Xiaoguo in Kunming, China was convicted of several rape cases and sentenced to death. This unfolded in the year 1994 when he was involved in a gang rape of two women, according to Shanghai.ist.
However, thanks to his parents being in the police force, he managed to escape the death penalty and even escaped a prison sentence. Instead, he was put on house arrest for three years in his own home.
Sun’s mother was the officer handling the criminal investigation while his stepfather was the deputy director of a district police station. They had arranged for him to be tried as a minor, falsely claiming that their son was 17 years old at the time instead of stating his real age of 19.
During his house arrest however, Sun continued to commit crimes – including torturing two underaged girls at a nightclub by inflicting burns on them with cigarettes, beating them and even urinating on them.
In 1998, he was convicted for this crime and several other rape cases, and sentenced to death again. An attempted appeal was denied by the Yunan supreme court, but Sun still never faced the death penalty and was released early in 2012 for good behaviour.
The reason for this release is speculated to be his patent for an “anti-theft manhole cover”, reported Red Star News.
It was during Sun’s term of imprisonment that his invention was patented, which was supposedly submitted by his mother for him. His early release was possible because according to the Chinese government, there is a policy which reduces sentences due to “important technical innovations”.
Since his release, Sun has changed his name to Li and has opened a few businesses including several nightclubs in Kunming, reportedly earning the nickname ‘Big Boss Li’.
However, in April 2019, Sun was arrested again for gang activity, which has caused people to wonder how he managed to escape the law more than a decade ago.
How can such a criminal escape two death sentences just because he invented something “cool”? He most certainly deserves punishment for all the crimes he’s committed. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Also read: Drunk Drivers Who Cause Fatal Accidents in Taiwan Could Face Death Penalty for “Murder”