A Chinese man who allegedly

The suspect is alleged to have stabbed Mr. Cao during a heated argument over the rent, leading to his death.

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However, known only by his surname, ‘Zheng’ has reportedly lost his ability to speak because as part of his hiding strategy, he refused to speak throughout the entire 12 years.

According to odditycentral.com, ‘Zheng’ even turned himself into a mute beggar at a point in time, before he eventually began working in construction after settling in a small village in Anhui Province, 700 km north of Hangzhou.

Reports say he even got married to another woman with whom he had a child, but never spoke with them verbally; for fear that he might say something that could lead his discover.

Following his arrest just recently, the Zhejiang Daily in China reported that ‘Zheng’ who adopted a fake name, Wang Gui, has really lost his ability to speak due to such a long time of pretending to be mute. His vocal cord, according to the newspaper had wasted away as a result of nonuse.

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His arrest was as a result of a household survey conducted by police earlier this year when he could not produce any identification papers. A DNA test subsequently traced him to the alleged murder case.

‘Zheng’ who could only communicate by writing told the police “The less I say, the less chance I’ll make a mistake,” when he was asked why he chose to be mute.

He is likely to be put to death sentence if found guilty of the alleged crime.