A deeply unsettling case from China has resurfaced, highlighting a tragic loss of life driven by extreme fear and superstition. A court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has held a woman, identified only as Li, legally responsible for the death of her younger daughter. The court sentenced her to three years in prison, but suspended the sentence for a period of four years. This legal decision underscores that the death was not an unavoidable accident, but a consequence of negligent actions rooted in irrational belief.
The Descent into Fear and Superstition
The details that emerged during the trial paint a disturbing picture of a family consumed by paranoia. Li lived with her two daughters, and together they had fallen into a deep well of superstition. They believed they possessed the ability to communicate through telepathy and relied on what they termed spiritual "medicine." Their lives were dominated by a constant, crippling fear that invisible entities were stalking them, watching their every move, and posing a direct threat to their souls. Over time, this pervasive dread completely overrode logic and reason.
The situation reached a critical and fatal point in December of last year. The younger daughter told her mother and older sister that she felt possessed by a spirit. She pleaded with them to help her expel the invading entity. Instead of seeking professional medical or psychological help, the family doubled down on their supernatural beliefs. What followed was a violent and misguided attempt at an exorcism.
A Fatal Ritual and a Chilling Parallel Case
Convinced they could force the spirit out, the mother and older sister subjected the girl to a dangerous physical ordeal. They pressed down on her chest and poured water into her mouth, believing it would induce vomiting and eject the possessing force. The court later emphasized this was not an act of care or healing, but of violence, even if the perpetrators did not perceive it as such. Reports indicate the girl, during the process, said it was working and asked them to continue. Taking this as confirmation, they persisted. By the next morning, the young girl was unresponsive.
Emergency workers arrived to find blood around her mouth and pronounced her dead at the scene. The court's examination concluded her death was caused by negligence—a direct result of fear and superstition replacing basic human care and judgment.
Tragically, this is not an isolated incident in China. In a separate and equally horrifying case, a woman named Xu Fang was sentenced to life in prison for murder. She killed a young woman, a classmate of her own daughter, during a fake exorcism ritual linked to the banned Church of Almighty God. Xu, along with her son and daughter, brutally attacked the victim, striking her with a chair and strangling her, under the belief she was possessed.
A court in Jiangsu province found Xu guilty of intentional murder and ordered her to pay 22,990 yuan (approximately ₹2 lakh) in compensation to the victim's family. The Church of Almighty God, founded in the 1990s, is known for its radical doctrines, including the claim that Jesus Christ returned as a woman named Yang Xiangbin, who is married to the group's founder.
A Sobering Warning on the Power of Irrational Fear
Together, these cases serve as a chilling cautionary tale. They demonstrate with devastating clarity how quickly fear can spiral out of control when left unchecked by reason. They reveal the extreme danger that arises when unverified belief systems completely override compassion, logical thought, and the most fundamental aspects of human judgment. The outcomes are irreversible tragedies that leave families shattered and communities questioning how such darkness can take hold.
