The story of Yao Jiaxin, the 21-year old who stabbed a migrant worker to death, could have been one of many. In October last, Yao Jiaxin drove his Chevrolet into cyclist Zhang Miao, injuring her slightly. However, when he saw Zhang staring at his number plate, he got off, stabbed her eight times and drove away. In his haste, he ran into two other passers-by, but continued speeding.

When Yao surrendered the next day, he told the police he acted out of fear that the peasant-looking woman would pester his parents for compensation. “Farmers are too difficult to get rid of,” he said. Expectedly, netizens traced his background — student of the Xian Music Conservatory, son of a retired military officer. The “farmer” was a waitress in Yao’s campus, and a 26-year-old mother of a 16-month-old boy. She had given up schooling after 15 because she couldn’t afford it; she skipped meals and took on multiple jobs to support her siblings’ education.

A black-and-white case, it seemed.The incident occurred just a month after the notorious “My dad is Li Gang” incident (in which a rich kid yelled out these words when he was apprehended after running over two students). To make things worse, Yao’s parents initially refused to meet Zhang’s husband. The cry — Yao must hang — began.

The first discordant note was struck by Yao’s classmate, who blogged that she would have done the same. “How come public opinion all supports the victim? How come they do not consider how shameless it is for her to mark down the car’s license (sic) number?’’ The official media could not but take note. CCTV interviewed Yao’s parents, just as it had in the Li Gang case. Turned out they were not that rich. Both lived off pensions. Yao had a mortgage on his mobile phone; they had bought him the car just four months back because he gave piano lessons at night. In court, Yao’s lawyer, calling it a “crime of passion”, displayed four letters from his classmates and his 13 merit certificates, saying he was too good a student to deserve death. Countered a netizen: “It makes me start to regret that I didn’t kill those I hate. I have much more merit certificates than Yao has.”

New twist

It was Yao’s own defence, however, that gave another twist to the story. From the age of four, his life had been “all about piano and studying”. If he didn’t score well in school, his father would lock him up in the basement. If he made mistakes in piano practice, his parents would beat him. “I used to think about committing suicide.” Breaking down, Yao pleaded for another chance, promising to serve his victim’s family for the rest of his life.

Just a clever defence? May be. But a senior criminal psychologist’s TV interview added weight to it, linking his act with his unhappy childhood that had led to a lack of feelings. Yao’s repeated stabbing reflected his mechanical banging of piano keys, she said. For the public, that turned out to be the last straw. Zhang’s villagers decided to demonstrate; TV debates were organized, with the death penalty itself being discussed. A few lawyers said that the “mob” baying for his blood was simply venting its own anger against the State; it was afraid that Yao’s family’s skilful defence would win.

All this while, the debate remained outside the court. However, in an unprecedented move, the judge invited Yao’s classmates to watch the trial and asked for their opinion on his punishment. Most of them said he should be given a second chance. Finally, the censors stepped in, directing the media to use only the official Xinhua report on the case. Describing Yao’s motive as “despicable”, the court ordered him to pay 45,500 yuan as compensation, stripped him of his political rights and sentenced him to death.