From QQ:

Mother & Son Die at Home in Beijing, Discovered 2 Years Later

From Beijing Evening News. A mother and her son pair who lived in Beijing’s Dongcheng District Jingtaidongli Building No.4 had not been seen in their neighborhood in nearly 2 years. In the morning the day before yesterday [January 22], the bodies of this mother and son pair were discovered in their home, the both of them having been dead for some time. Yesterday [January 23], the police collected a refrigerator drawer and other everyday items used by the deceased for examination.

Yesterday [January 23] afternoon, the reporter of this article saw that the metal door of the apartment where the incident happened was locked and already sealed off with yellow [police scene] tape. According to residents in the building, a mother and her son lived in this apartment, “the woman was about 30 to 40 years old, with a little boy who was about 5 to 6 years old.” The residents also claimed that it has been 3 to 4 years since they’ve seen the father of the boy come home, and it had always been the mother and her son living here, but the last time anyone saw the mother and son was in early 2011. “We too were wondering where the mother and her son had gone to at the time. Then we heard that they had simply gone back to their hometown.”

However, the day before yesterday [January 22] after 9am, an old woman who claimed to be the woman’s mother-in-law arrived with a locksmith who unlocked the door. To everyone’s surprise, the bodies of the mother and son were discovered. A neighbor called Ms. Mu described that many police cars arrived at the community that morning. The police was investigating the scene in the apartment where the incident happened until late at night. “In the beginning we didn’t know who died, until later when the police was asking questions around the neighborhood did we know that they were the mother and her son.”

The day before yesterday [January 22] after 5pm, the bodies of the mother and son were carried out of the scene. “The two bodies were carried out together on one stretcher, covered with a white cloth, the child together with his mother even to the end.” A Mr. Li who witnessed the scene was very upset. According to him, this little boy was very lively, and could often be seen playing on the fences. Sometimes the boy would be at home alone, yet nobody ever heard him cry or make a fuss. Residents say the mother and her son were old residents here, but they rarely went out, and nobody had ever had any dealings with them. The woman didn’t really have much contact with her husband’s family either. People didn’t even know the names of the mother and her son. “The woman was fairly tall, very pretty, but she didn’t talk much. If someone ran into her, she’d just smile or nod her head.”

According to the residents, the last time they saw the mother and son was at the beginning of 2011. Afterwards, they never saw them go out ever again. In August or September of 2011, some neighbors noted that there was a foul smell in the hallway, and many flies appeared from nowhere, leading the residents to also think the worst from time to time. They say they’ve contacted the neighborhood and subdistrict committee, but then someone said that the mother and her son had simply returned to their hometown, and so no one ever thought of the worst again.

Yesterday afternoon [January 22], the police took away a refrigerator drawer and some other everyday items for examination from the apartment where the incident happened, and the apartment door was locked again as well.

“The gas bill is collected once every three months here, while the water meter must be checked by going into tenants’ apartments, once a month, so [their bodies] should have been found [earlier]. Did no one from their family think of calling them after this much time?” The residents say that the mother and her son have been dead for 2 years without being discovered. The more they think about it, the more unbelievable it is. What pains the residents the most is [the death of] the little boy who was only 5 to 6 years old. “When he played in the fences, we would playfully tease him and he’d even talk back.”

Comments from QQ:

腾讯网友 唐伯虎点蚊香:

Sigh, I feel a little bit like crying, how about everyone else?

腾讯网友 y1世、疼伱永吥弃:

The countryside is still better. After supper, people go visit their neighbors, not like in the city, where people shut their doors and live their own lives! You can die and no one would know! Some don’t even know the names of their neighbors!!!

腾讯上海市网友 龙顾天下:

“A nearby neighbor is better than a far away relative”, how can their neighbors’ conscience be at peace??

Can we blame the neighbors? They are not legally responsible, but can our society rely only on laws? Laws are cold, only the human heart is warm. When I was in elementary school, my teacher told us that only in that extremely evil XXX [likely referring to “capitalist”] society would something like this happen, where a person can be dead in their home for years without anyone knowing. What has gone amiss with our lives? So, first we must determine the authenticity of this news. Second, is it necessary to launch an “open your doors, care for each other” community campaign?

腾讯网友 夏雨飞花:

Neighborhood committee, property management, water-meter inspector, what were you all doing?

腾讯网友 colin.su:

Just a few days ago there were reports about Koreans being cold and indifferent, saying that a Korean person had been dead in his rented home for 17 years before being discovered. Now there’s a report that in China there are people dead only to be discovered after 2 years. Sigh, the fickleness of human relations. Just like what the other brother [person] commented above, the countryside is still better, where everybody knows everybody in the village, where if a relative visits a villager often enough, eventually everyone comes to know that person to be the relative of that villager whenever he comes again.

腾讯淄博市网友 翩若惊鸿:

What about her relatives? How can 2 years go by with nobody looking for them both? Sigh.

腾讯网友 312611652:

I’m a little suspicious. A few days after a person dies, the body starts decomposing, and gives out a terrible smell. It’s impossible that no one smelled anything, that no one went to look [for the source of the odor]; Even when a mouse dies somewhere and begins stinking, people will think of a way to find it.

腾讯苏州市网友 付多奇怪:

Seriously suspect this news is fake, or at least the reporting is not complete and accurate.

腾讯天津市网友 未命名:

Dead in an apartment for 2 years, a woman and a boy. Reminds me of Ju-on… Were there no rumors of that building being haunted at night?

腾讯网友 410313800: