Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200807/20080709/article_366156.htm
Spanner attack puts new spin on jealous husband
Created: 2008-7-9 1:26:04
Author:Angela Xu
A FARMER hit his estranged wife over the head with a spanner because he suspected she was having an affair, a court heard yesterday.
Yuan Xiejin, 59, a Zhejiang Province native, confessed to the Xuhui District People's Court he had deliberately injured his wife.
On February 24, when Tu, a domestic helper, was cycling to her employer's home, she was stopped by Yuan on Yongfu Road.
He hit her over the head with a spanner and Tu fell to the ground, her head bleeding, the court heard.
Yuan was prevented from escaping by passers-by and was soon detained by police. Tu suffered serious brain injuries.
Prosecutors learned that Yuan and Tu had had a de facto marriage in the countryside without registration. They had two daughters and a son.
"But he always abused me for small things and I couldn't bear him any more," Tu told prosecutors.
She came to the city to work as a domestic helper 10 years ago and had never returned home.
Yuan heard from a villager last year that his wife might have a lover in Shanghai.
"Since she has never been back after she left, I believe she must have a lover in Shanghai," Yuan told the court.
He then learned where Tu worked from villagers who also worked in the city and went there to "teach her a lesson."
The court didn't announce a verdict yesterday. But Tu asked the court to give Yuan a light punishment.
Yuan Xiejin, 59, a Zhejiang Province native, confessed to the Xuhui District People's Court he had deliberately injured his wife.
On February 24, when Tu, a domestic helper, was cycling to her employer's home, she was stopped by Yuan on Yongfu Road.
He hit her over the head with a spanner and Tu fell to the ground, her head bleeding, the court heard.
Yuan was prevented from escaping by passers-by and was soon detained by police. Tu suffered serious brain injuries.
Prosecutors learned that Yuan and Tu had had a de facto marriage in the countryside without registration. They had two daughters and a son.
"But he always abused me for small things and I couldn't bear him any more," Tu told prosecutors.
She came to the city to work as a domestic helper 10 years ago and had never returned home.
Yuan heard from a villager last year that his wife might have a lover in Shanghai.
"Since she has never been back after she left, I believe she must have a lover in Shanghai," Yuan told the court.
He then learned where Tu worked from villagers who also worked in the city and went there to "teach her a lesson."
The court didn't announce a verdict yesterday. But Tu asked the court to give Yuan a light punishment.
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