Chinese Mother, 90, Learns Law To Defend Her Son In Court

A 90-year-old Chinese mother has gained attention on the internet after she taught herself law to defend her son in a high-profile extortion case. The mother, surnamed He, has been defending her son, Lin, 57, who was arrested in April 2023 for blackmailing a local entrepreneur named Huang to the tune of Rs 141 crore (117 million yuan).

The case proceedings are ongoing at the Zhoushan Municipal Intermediate Court in Zhejiang province, where Ms He represents her son. The last hearing took place on July 30.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Ms He decided to take up law last year as she was missing her son very much. Though the family objected to the decision, owing to her old age, Ms He refused to budge and started her preparations.

"But my grandmother is stubborn and she did not listen to the advice of others," Ms He's granddaughter told the media.

"She bought books on Criminal Law and the Law of Criminal Procedure before studying law by herself."

Apart from studying books and journals, the nonagenarian mother also visits the court every day to study dossiers about related cases.

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What is the case?

Lin was in business with Huang in the gas production business, but the latter often failed to make the payments on time, despite being among the top 100 richest people in China in 2009, with a net worth of eight billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) at the time. The constant delays led to the suspension of production at Lin's factory and severe losses.

Between 2014 and 2017, Lin and his accountant forced Huang to cough up a sum of 117 million yuan by threatening to inform the tax agencies about his irregular business practices. Troubled by the threats, Huang finally reported Lin to the police for extortion at the start of 2023.

When Ms He first saw her son being taken to the courtroom in handcuffs, she nearly choked and cried on the spot.

"Hours later, she became emotional and said she did not feel comfortable. The court asked doctors from an ambulance that had been assigned in advance to do a physical check-up on her," the report stated.

While doctors suggested that Ms He go to the hospital, she refused to leave, as she wanted to be by her son's side.