Speak about innovative and creative criminals; you can’t get more creative and smart than a 45-year-old man named Zheng from China. This man not only committed a crime, he also pretended to be mute for 12 years just so he wouldn’t have to speak up about his crime or his past. But!! There was a huge twist in his nefarious plan which backfired not just miserably but in the worse way expected. He actually became mute and lost his speech.

Murder suspect Zheng 45 stood accused of murdering his wife’s uncle over a paltry issue of unpaid rent. According to local media, the Chinese man lost his voice because of not using it.

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1Zheng stood accused of killing his wife’s uncle

In 2005, Zheng who lived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province got into a fight with his wife’s Uncle Mr. Cai over unpaid rent amounting to 500 Yuan ($75). At the time he was 33. During the heated argument, Zheng stabbed Cai and then fled to the hills to evade arrest.

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2He started living a new life under a different identity

Zheng then made his way to a village in the province of Anhui which is 700 km north of Hangzhou. He even changed his name to Wang Gui and first took on the garb of a beggar. Ultimately he found work in a construction site and remarried after his boss introduced him to his second wife. He also became a father. All this while Zheng pretended to be mute and would not speak. He remained pretending to be a deaf mute for 12 years to keep up the deceit.

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3The law caught up with him

Earlier this year, Zheng was finally apprehended by the police who went around conducting surveys in the village where he lived under the false name. The problem that got Zheng caught was an absence of documents that he lacked to establish his identity. This made the police suspicious about him.

The police then took a blood sample and through his DNA managed to find out his true identity. He was the very same Zheng of Hangzhou wanted for the murder of Cai. He was arrested and charged with murder.

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4And the big twist in the tale

Throughout his arrest and interrogation, Zheng could not speak a word to the police in his defense nor claim he was Wang Gui simply because he had really lost his voice. Because of living so many years without using his voice, it had become useless. He had indeed become mute.

Zheng was subsequently brought back to Hangzhou in October to face trial for the murder of Cai. His DNA had matched those of the parents of the murderer who they believed was on the run.

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5Zheng gave a written confession

The newspaper reported 'After 12 years of silence, he can no longer speak,’ Zheng was made to give a written confession where he wrote in a statement to the police 'By not speaking, I was not going to say anything stupid,' Zheng told police in writing. If Zheng is convicted, he could be receiving a death sentence which is a common occurrence in China when you are convicted for murder.

According to the Police associated with his arrest, Zheng could not communicate all because his vocal chords had decayed and wasted away because of not using them for 12 years. Instead of speaking, he was made to write notes to his interrogators.

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6The reason he gave for remaining mute

When police questioned Zheng asking him why he had chosen to impersonate a deaf-mute, he wrote: “The less I say the less chance I'll make a mistake.”

In China, the maximum sentence for murder is the death penalty but the government conceals the numbers of executions that have taken place in the country. There are human rights organizations that have tried investigating and claim that the figure runs in thousands. Death penalty or not, was Zheng also justified in murdering a man too?

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7Is it really possible to lose your voice if you don’t use it?

This Chinese man lost his voice because he stopped using it but is that possible? The answer is yes!! According to Otolaryngologist at Columbia University Dr. Anil Lalwani, the vocal chords are muscles. And, as in all muscles in our body, the more we use them the stronger they become. They get weaker with less use. If you stopped speaking, you would suffer from muscle atrophy of the laryngeal muscles. The condition is known as presbylaryngis that reduces the pitch of your voice making it harder for you to speak. So yes! It’s possible to lose your voice if you are silent for unusually long periods of time.

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