On February 25, 2026, a young couple in Chaozhou, Guangdong, had a dispute on the bridge on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. The man, in a fit of anger, grabbed their young child and threw them into the river. The incident was captured by passersby and circulated online, sparking outrage across the internet.
The video shows the man losing control of his emotions and throwing the young child into the river. The wife broke down on the spot, directly climbed over the bridge railing and jumped into the river to rescue the child. After hesitating for a brief moment on the bridge, the man also followed and jumped into the river. The other child stood on the bridge crying out in desperation, “Save my mom!” In the video, someone on the shore can be seen throwing wood into the water in an attempt to help.
According to reports from several mainland Chinese media outlets, the couple involved were migrant workers from another region living a financially strained life with their two children. The incident occurred on the afternoon of February 22 (the sixth day of the Lunar New Year). The couple was walking on the bridge with their children when their long-term stress and relationship conflicts escalated into a heated argument, leading the intoxicated man to lose his rationality and throw the child into the icy river below. The other child witnessed the entire ordeal, with their heart-wrenching cries attracting attention from onlookers.
Subsequently, two young men jumped into the river and with the assistance of the crowd, managed to rescue the three individuals. An eyewitness netizen said that when the child was brought ashore, their face was pale and they had stopped crying. With the help of someone experienced in first aid on the scene, CPR was performed, eventually reviving their breathing. The mother and her two children were then taken to the hospital for examination and treatment by an ambulance, while the man was apprehended by the police on the spot.
Following the exposure of the incident, online users flooded the internet with condemnation. Some expressed, “Only using the child to vent anger, killing the child, this is inhumane,” “A tiger does not devour its cubs, his wickedness is unforgivable,” “Quickly take the children away from that heartless person.” Others expressed concerns, “Poor child! How terrified they must have been at that moment,” “The psychological trauma for the child will never fade,” “Intentional murder must be punished with a sentence.”