Photo: VCG

A Chinese man on bail, who staged his own death by lying in a coffin and having his family bury him in an attempt to escape punishment, has been sentenced to five months in detention for dangerous driving, while his mother and grandmother are under criminal investigation for allegedly helping him evade justice, prosecutors in Anyang, Central China's Henan Province said, according to China Newsweek on Tuesday. 

The man, surnamed Si, was found drunk driving on January 21, 2025. Si was found to have been penalized twice for driving under the influence of alcohol and without a license, and was fined and taken under administrative detention. He was released on bail on January 27 pending further legal proceedings, according to the report.

On June 18, Si's mother and grandmother "found" Si was "dead at home." His mother claimed that his face had become severely disfigured and covered by a bedsheet, as he "ingested poison," saying the family buried him hastily before nightfall on the same day.

When local police received the death report and arrived, Si had already been placed in a coffin and buried, making it impossible to examine the body.

Investigators became suspicious. "Why the family did not take Si to hospital for emergency treatment?" "Why had a coffin been prepared in advance?" Yet the family members failed to answer those questions. 

The prosecutors, upon receiving reports from the police, sorted out the case and found that Si showed no sign of committing suicide during his bail period, but suddenly killed himself when his drunk driving case was about to be handed over to prosecutors. His previous violation records reinforced his intention to evade punishment. 

Si's family was unable to provide legally required documents, including a hospital-issued medical death certificate, cremation certificate or household registration cancellation record.

Further investigation revealed that no one other than Si's mother and grandmother had actually seen his body. Other relatives and villagers told police that his head had remained covered with a bedsheet throughout the alleged funeral.

After reviewing the case, prosecutors advised police to focus on verifying whether Si had actually died and to investigate the possibility that his family had fabricated his death to help him evade prosecution.

After door-to-door visits and investigations, review of surveillance footage, bank transactions and phone records, the police believe Si is alive and placed him on a national wanted list on July 18, 2025.

Police tracked Si down and arrested him on April 27, 2026. During interrogation, Si admitted staging his own death because he feared imprisonment and financial penalties after being caught for drunk driving again. "I already had previous drunk-driving violations. I knew I would be sentenced and fined this time. I am heavily in debt, and with a criminal record, my life is over," he said.

Investigations found that Si had purchased a coffin in advance, placed empty medicine bottles at home and used cooling equipment to lower his body temperature to fake a suicide by poisoning. With the help of his family, he was "buried" before fleeing overnight to Southwest China's Yunnan Province. 

Prosecutors said Si's deliberate attempt to fake his death while on bail and fleeing the province seriously obstructed legal proceedings, warranting a heavier punishment, said the report.

Global Times