Chinese man faked his own death — complete with a funeral — to escape drunk-driving charges

A man in China faked his own death, staged a funeral and fled to another region after being arrested for drunk driving and fearing punishment.

According to the South China Morning Post, a man surnamed Xi was arrested for drunk driving in Anyang, Henan Province in central China in January last year. A police investigation found he had previously been punished twice for the same offense.

Xi was released on bail during the investigation but, fearing a prison sentence, decided to fake his own death.

In June last year, Xi purchased a coffin for himself. He scattered empty medicine bottles around his home, held his breath and used cooling equipment to lower his body temperature — staging the scene to look as though he had died of a drug overdose.

Family members were reportedly in on the plan. Xi's mother and grandmother covered his head with cloth, claiming his face had been disfigured by the overdose, and rushed to bury the coffin before sunset. Xi then fled to Yunnan Province in southwestern China to look for work.

Officers who responded to the death report could not verify the body because the coffin had already been buried. They grew suspicious, however, when they found Xi had not received any emergency treatment and that the coffin had been prepared in advance. Police found no evidence of his death — no death certificate, cremation records or body-removal documentation.

Relatives and villagers testified that the body had been covered with cloth and that only his mother and grandmother had seen it.

After reviewing closed-circuit television footage, bank transaction records and phone logs, police concluded Xi was alive and launched a large-scale manhunt.

Xi was ultimately caught in April, ending his time on the run. He reportedly told police he had been afraid that a conviction — given his debts and criminal record — would leave him with no chance to start over.

At a trial held a month later, a judge sentenced Xi to five months in prison and a fine of 20,000 yuan ($2,930).

On June 11, police opened an investigation into Xi's mother and grandmother on charges of harboring a fugitive.

A prosecutor handling the case at the Anyang prosecutors office in Henan Province told local media that faking one's death to evade the law is not only futile but could result in heavier criminal penalties.

The case went viral on Chinese social media, surpassing 10 million views. Users reacted with comments such as "Is it really that hard not to drink and drive? He went to all that trouble to avoid indictment and got caught anyway," and "His family thought they were helping him, but they only made things worse."