On April 27, mainland China, a 12-year-old girl named Qi Qi (pseudonym) was abused to death by her stepmother Xu Mouhua in the bathroom. Xu Mouhua was sentenced to death in the first instance, while her biological father, Liu Mou, was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison.
Qi Qi was born in 2011. After her parents divorced, her biological father Liu Mou remarried Xu Mouhua from Fujian in 2017, and Qi Qi lived with her father. Qi Qi’s biological mother tried many times to take her daughter back but was refused. It wasn’t until one day in 2024 when Qi Qi’s biological mother received a court notice that she learned her daughter had been abused to death on December 22, 2023.
According to reports, the family relationships between Xu Mouhua and Liu Mou are complex. Apart from Qi Qi who is related to Liu Mou by blood, there were three other children – Xiao Jing, Xiao Xu, and Xiao Zhu – who Xu Mouhua bought at different times in 2010, 2011, and 2016, none of whom were biologically related to them.
Xu Mouhua began abusing these children frequently starting from 2020, even forcing them to physically fight each other. While the other children’s injuries were comparatively mild, Qi Qi had old injuries in more than ten different areas on her body.
On December 6, 2023, Xu Mouhua tied Qi Qi’s hands and feet and locked her in the bathroom for 17 days. Xu Mouhua subjected Qi Qi to various forms of abuse. During this time, Xu Mouhua sent photos to Liu Mou multiple times, but he did not come home to save the children. It was not until December 22 that the other children found Qi Qi extremely weak and pleaded with Xu Mouhua to stop, but Xu Mouhua persisted. Eventually, Qi Qi began convulsing all over her body. Xu Mouhua then loosened the restraints, dragged her to the bedroom to change her blood-soaked clothes, cleaned up the bathroom, deleted surveillance footage.
Upon examination, it was found that before her death, Qi Qi suffered from pulmonary anemia, bronchitis, splenic anemia, acute splenic inflammation, multiple organ edema and necrosis, skin loss on her right lower leg, abrasions on her back and head, with injuries classified as level one minor. Xu Mouhua’s phone records revealed she had searched online for ways to abuse children. Despite knowing that his wife regularly abused the children, Liu Mou turned a blind eye and even helped purchase 1600 laxative pills online for Qi Qi to use.
In the first instance, the court sentenced Xu Mouhua to death for intentional homicide and abuse, while Liu Mou was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison for intentional injury and abuse.
Qi Qi’s biological mother stated that her daughter’s stepmother and ex-husband were blaming each other in court. Following the verdict, the biological father expressed intent to appeal. The mother also plans to appeal, hoping for strict punishment from the court.