Farmer convicted of robbery asked for `life' sentence

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-12-22  |     ONLINE EDITION

AN ELDERLY Hunan Province farmer who was sentenced to two-years jail for theft asked for a longer term so he could spend the rest of his life in custody, according to a Beijing Times report.

Fu Daxin, 69, tried to rob a female college student of cash and personal items worth more than 9,000 yuan (US$1,285) at Beijing Railway Station on September 8, the Beijing Railway Transport Court said in its verdict at the end of last month, the newspaper said.

"I know what I did was wrong, but I was too old to work in the fields," Fu, who gained 10 kilograms in weight while being held in prison, told the Beijing Times yesterday.

"I wanted to stay in prison so that I would no longer have to worry about the future."

Fu said he had four brothers and sisters but did not get married because of his poor circumstances.

"I lived by farming when I was young. But I am old and sick now so I turned in my land to the government and lived on the annual allowance of 600 yuan," he said.

However, the sum was not enough for the old man to buy food alone, the report said.

In August, he went to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region with fellow townsfolk hoping to make a living by collecting garbage.

"But I was too old to ride a tricycle so I gave up the idea and continued to visit Beijing," he said.

"On September 8, I came up with the idea to commit a robbery because I had no money or food," he told the newspaper.

Fu tried to grab a female college student's bag at Beijing Railway Station plaza, but failed. He then took out a flick knife to threaten the student, but was subdued by several railway passengers.

Fu later confessed to police that he had robbed another woman of 100 yuan 20 minutes prior to attacking the student. However, the woman thought he was a mental patient and did not alert police, the newspaper said.

Li Helin, director of the Scientific Socialism Institute at Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said Fu's case, though an odd one, indicated that there were still loopholes in China's social assurance systems.

"If what Fu said was true, there must have been problems with local financial allowances or pension security work," Li said.

"The systems need improving, especially for the most disadvantaged groups such as elderly people without children," he added.