Photo:Sina Weibo

The All China Lawyers Association mourns the death of Xue Weixing, a lawyer reportedly killed in a gunshot on Monday morning in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. The Association also condemned the crime, and called on the public to defend the rights of the group. 

According to a statement posted by the association on Monday night, it has sent personnel to Wuhan to condole Xue's family and assist in related matters by assignment of the Ministry of Justice. 

"Lawyers are an important force in the rule of law," the association wrote. "We strongly appeal to all sectors of society to care for lawyers and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of lawyers."

At around 10 am on Monday, a man surnamed Lei entered an office and attacked Xue. Lei escaped after the incident but was later caught by police. He claimed that the attack was due to a personal conflict. Xue was later pronounced dead, according to the police's statement.

A video posted by The Paper on Monday showed that after attacking Xue in the legal services center, Lei threatened three passing vehicles with a weapon and tried to hijack a car to escape.

Xue, 30, was a full-time lawyer with a local law office, who was polite and kind to people, The Paper reported, adding that his colleagues were shocked when they heard the news.

Lei, 47, was once an owner of several businesses, but has recently been in dire financial straits, Shangyou News reported. 

The Paper found that in May 2020, the murdered lawyer had accepted a case brought by four applicants who wanted to apply to the People's Court of Hongshan District in Wuhan to seal up and freeze deposits of Lei's company and Lei, exceeding 1.2 million yuan ($185,859) in total.

According to public judicial documents, this was the only intersection between Xue and Lei. According to the case report written by Xue's firm, because Lei was dissatisfied that his property was forced to be auctioned by the court, he attacked the prosecution lawyer while he was intoxicated, Shangyou News reported.

According to media reports, many spectators nearby said they heard a gunshot. "I was walking past a law firm just after 10:00 when I suddenly heard a gunshot. The wounded man was completely immobile when he was carried out," a spectator surnamed Lu told Jimu News. 

Recently, the safety of legal practitioners has raised social concerns. On August 14, a lawyer in Fushun, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, died after being stabbed by her client due to "dissatisfactory legal services."

Global Times