Man jailed for abuse that led to girlfriend's suicide

Mu Linhan, convicted of mentally abusing his ex-girlfriend, which caused her to take her own life, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison by a Beijing court on Thursday.

Mu was also ordered to pay more than 730,000 yuan ($102,000) in compensation to the victim's mother, according to the ruling announced by the Beijing Haidian District People's Court.

The case attracted widespread public attention when the victim, a Peking University student surnamed Chen, took drugs in 2019 after being repeatedly chastised about her sexual past by her then-boyfriend Mu, who was also a student at the university.

After being in a coma for about five months, Chen died at the age of 24. Her death was ruled a suicide.

According to previous reports, police soon discovered Mu's alleged abuse of Chen after reviewing messages between the couple on her WeChat account and other materials. Not long after, Mu was detained by police.

The news about Chen's death sparked heated discussions among Chinese netizens about mental abuse and whether Mu's behavior amounted to it.

Chen's mother said that Mu was upset because Chen had sex before their relationship. Instead of breaking up, he used the fact that she was not a virgin to emotionally torture her.

Some netizens at that time accused Mu of being a "pickup artist", someone who uses psychological tricks to manipulate others into doing something for them, such as engaging in sexual activity.

On Thursday, the Haidian court identified Mu's behavior as maltreatment in line with the Criminal Law, clarifying that it was his long-term abuse of Chen that led to her deteriorated state and contributed to her death.

Under the law, people will be convicted of maltreatment if they physically or mentally abuse their family members, such as by assaulting, insulting, confining, binding or leaving them in the cold, or failing to offer them medical care or forcing them to do excessive labor.

In a statement posted by the court, it specified that Mu and Chen began dating in August 2018, and they lived together between Sept 16, 2018 and Oct 9, 2019. From January to February 2019, they traveled to meet each other's parents.

"Mu and Chen could be identified as family members, because they lived together for a long period and their relationship was for starting a family, with mental and financial interdependence," the court said.

It revealed that in January 2019, Mu began expressing his dissatisfaction with Chen's past sexual experience and repeatedly asked her for details, leading to frequent quarrels and abuse.

From then on, Chen began harming herself. She cut one of her wrists on June 13, 2019, and took drugs on Aug 30 that year. After she consumed the drugs, Mu took her to get her stomach pumped at a hospital, where she was determined to be in critical condition, it said.

Around noon on Oct 9, 2019, the two quarreled again. Later that afternoon, Chen went out alone and checked into a temporary room, where she took drugs she had bought online. Between 4:19 pm and 10:30 pm that day, Mu tried to contact and locate her. At 10:55 pm, he found her in the room and sent her to the hospital, it said.

On April 11, 2020, Chen died of respiratory and circulatory failure due to the drug poisoning. About two months later, Mu was detained by police, it added.

"Mu's constant and long-term abuse of Chen prompted Chen's suicide attempt, or there was a link between the abuse and the victim's death," the court explained.

Based on the findings and evidence, the court said, "Mu's behavior constituted the crime of maltreatment, and he should be penalized for the crime."

According to the law, whoever abuses a family member, if the circumstances are grave, including causing serious injuries to or death of victims, will face a prison term ranging from two to seven years.

In response to some netizens questioning whether Mu's behavior could be identified as intentional killing, the court said that the evidence is insufficient to prove the conviction, and Mu made the effort in contacting, looking for and rescuing Chen.

Family members of the victim and the defendant, along with a few national lawmakers and journalists, were in attendance during the court's ruling on Thursday.