In an attempt to conceal his past, a man who pretended to be mute ended up losing the power of speech for real.
After a rent dispute over 500 yuan, the man named as Zeng killed his wife's uncle and fled from the village in 2005. Then aged 33, Zeng pretended to be mute and managed to find a job on a construction site in another province.
Later he changed his name and got married. But the local police became suspicious at Zeng's lack of identity papers. After conducting a blood test the police discovered that he was a murderer. Later Zeng confessed that after 12 years of silence he can no longer speak, according to the newspaper.
