Corpse of murdered victim found under the bed in popular hotel room in Lhasa, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on April 21, 2023. Photo: Sina Weibo

Police in Lhasa, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region have apprehended a suspected murderer after the victim's corpse was found under the bed at a popular hotel where an unknowing tourist had slept on for three hours. The tourist's horrible ordeal has been circulated widely online during the May Day holidays.

The tourist, surnamed Zhang (pseudonym), confirmed online that he slept on the bed for three hours after he checked in the hotel on April 21 before he was changed to another room on the fourth floor due to the odor that permeated through the original room on the third floor, according to media reports.

Police told him on April 22 that the corpse of a female was found under the bed in the room on the third floor.

After Zhang's ordeal was denied by the hotel employees, he showed his hotel booking details and notes taken when he was interviewed by the police.

The victim, surnamed Wang, has been linked to a suspect surnamed Gao, who has been apprehended by police after he fled by train from Lhasa to Lanzhou in Northwest China's Gansu Province, police said.

Gao was caught by police in Lanzhou with the victim's ID card, iPhone and bank cards being discovered. The case has since been handed over to the police in Lhasa for further investigations. It has not been revealed by the police the exact date when the victim was murdered.

A netizen who claimed to be a family member of the victim said in an online statement that the victim did not know the suspect and questioned if the hotel had failed to fulfill its management responsibilities, according to media reports.

According to the statement, the victim was murdered elsewhere and her corpse was moved to the hotel room by the suspect. However, the hotel failed to detect anomalies in time and supposed that the victim had left the hotel without checking out. Her corpse was not found until her family members reported her being missing to the police.

Meanwhile, Zhang also attempted to seek compensations from the hotel with his travel agenda disrupted in addition to the trauma suffered by the incident. He said that he has been unable to fall sleep at night after the incident.

Zhang was told by the hotel manager that the hotel and the staff were also affected by the incident and the manager was cooperating with the police during investigations. The hotel has since suspended operation and the legal representative of the hotel will negotiate with Zhang over appropriate next steps. 

When Zhang, who was on the first visit to Lhasa, first informed the hotel employees about the odor in the room, he was told it might be the smell from the bread store downstairs and only was re-arranged a new room for the second time of his complaint.

Zhang left Lhasa by air that day after he finished his interview with the police.

According to China's Civil Code, a consumer can file complaints to the market supervision department and ask for compensations from the hotel, or file a lawsuit for compensation, while the hotel can file civil compensations from the suspect, according to Dushi Kuaibao.

Global Times