The richest man in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, was abducted, forced to kill a woman and blackmailed, according to media reports on Tuesday, triggering a public debate about whether his murder deserves amnesty considering it was committed under duress, as reported by the Global Times.
The local police bureau of Yibin posted on its official Sina Weibo account that it has arrested four suspects for kidnapping and blackmailing the man, who is surnamed Zhang, trying to get a ransom payment on Nov. 11. The suspects allegedly forced him to kill a female stranger.
Even before the police statement was released, an online post went viral on Nov. 10. It stated that Zhang was kidnapped by four people in the elevator of an apartment building.
Zhang, who is the president of Yibin Yili Science and Technology Company, is the richest man in Yubin City.
Zhang was taken to a rental house, where he was held by kidnappers wielding a self-made pistol. They demanded he pay a ransom of 100 million yuan ($15.65 million) to be settled before March 2016.
The viral post said that Zhang was forced to strangle a masseuse. He was released after the kidnappers filmed the murder, effectively blackmailing him.
The incident has started an online discussion, with some arguing Zhang should not be granted amnesty even if the killing was forced.
China's Criminal Law states that a person who is compelled to participate in a crime should be given a mitigated punishment or be exempted from punishment, depending on the circumstances of the crime.
Some netizens have raised the concern that hatred for rich people is fueling sentiments that disagree with Zhang being granted amnesty.
"Maybe demands that Zhang should be punished severely are being made because he is a rich man. If he was poor, the situation might go a different way," said one netizen.