An arrest of a murderer in a 30-year-old case has turned out to be a point of discussion in China after the killer left an emotional message for his wife.
According to the South China Morning Post, the self-confessed killer Zhou stabbed a man to death with three other men in 1993 in central Hubei province.
His accomplices were caught soon after the crime, but Zhou had been at large until the end of last month, when Hubei police apprehended him in the southern city of Guangzhou, where he had been hiding, SCMP reported, quoting the Beijing Youth Daily.
A viral video showed him asking his wife to get a divorce from him and get remarried to someone else as the police were arresting him.
While leaving for jail, Zhou hugged his wife to say goodbye and cried. After that, he told his sister-in-law, "The divorce agreement is over there; get your sister to sign it. You must persuade her to remarry and not to wait for me. I will not be leaving jail."
His wife replied in tears: "I am wondering if you don't want me... I don't agree. I don't agree."
When Zhou repeated, "Don't wait for me," his wife used her hand to cover his mouth and shook her head in disagreement.
Later, Zhou told the Beijing Youth Daily that he felt regret over the crime he committed 30 years ago.
"I am remorseful. I haven't seen my parents all these years and haven't displayed my filial piety towards them. I did the wrong thing when I was young. I shouldn't have beaten and killed that guy," Zhou said.