Bungling Grave Robbers Call Family From Dead Mans Phone

A suspected grave robber and his accomplice have been arrested after one stole a phone from a tomb and accidentally called the dead man’s family just hours after his funeral.

Police in the town of Xiaji, which is in Baoying County in East China’s Jiangsu Province, have revealed the two convicted crooks, surnamed Xia and Liu, raided the deceased’s grave two hours after his funeral service last year.

Credit: AsiaWire
The graveyard where the father-in-law was buried

The dead man was buried in September 2018 with some of his most valuable belongings, including his mobile phone and radio.

But his son-in-law, Mr Xu, was shocked when his wife’s dead dad appeared to call his mobile phone from the afterlife.

Mr Xu revealed he did not dare answer the phone and all of his relatives were just as surprised by the mysterious call.

However, reports say they finally came to their senses and concluded that a deceased person was unlikely to have called them from beyond the grave.

Mr Xu went to the police, who began to investigate.

Officer Lu Ming said: “We discovered that the grave appeared to have been broken into.

“The urn was untouched, but nearby burial items looked to have been moved around.”

Grave robber Liu

Authorities say the deceased’s phone, radio as well as cash were all missing from the tomb.

Their investigations then led them to the discovery of two suspicious individuals.

Lu said: “About two hours [after the funeral], two suspicious men were seen loitering around the cemetery.

“They also picked up burial offerings such as apples and ate them.”

The police tracked down the two suspects and arrested them on grave robbing charges.

Xia, 28, who is a mute, admitted to police through a sign language interpreter that he accidentally called the dead man’s son-in-law while playing with the stolen mobile phone.

Officer Lu Ming

He and his accomplice Liu, 34, both have priors for theft.

Local police revealed they robbed 14 graves in three Xiaji Town cemeteries between September and October last year.

They were both found guilty of theft this week at the Baoying County People’s Court, which sentenced them to seven months in prison and issued each a fine of 1,000 RMB (113 GBP).


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: John FengSub-EditorJoseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report


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