Woman scares would-be rapist away by coughing, telling him she is infected with Wuhan coronavirus
A Chinese woman scared away a rapist last week by coughing and telling him she was infected with the deadly coronavirus, prompting him to flee from the scene, reports from the country state.
The victim, identified by police as Yi, was home alone in the city of Jingshan, located near Wuhan — the city at the center of the coronavirus outbreak — when 25-year-old Xiao broke into her bedroom and tried to rape her, according to the Daily Mail.
As he tried to force her into the act, a desperate Yi reportedly shouted, "I just returned from Wuhan and have been infected, therefore I am home alone in self-quarantine."
To complete the ploy, and for extra measure, Yi then started coughing while simultaneously pushing away Xiao, who was attempting to squeeze her neck and cover her mouth.
Afraid he would catch the virus, which has already affected as many as 20,000 people, if not more, around the world, Xiao fled the home. However, before he made his escape, he robbed Yi of 3,080 Yuan ($440) in cash.
The incident took place in the township of Pingba on the outskirts of Jingshan, a three-hour drive from Wuhan, on January 31 and was detailed by the Jingshan Public Security Bureau in a social media post.
They said Xiao had walked out on his family the same night with no money and had broken into Yi's home intending to rob her. They said the idea to carry out the sexual assault only came after he got inside and saw the woman was alone at home.
Yi had called the police immediately after he fled to report the incident, though it had proven difficult to track the 25-year-old because all the residents, including him, were wearing facemasks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.
But in a stroke of luck, Xiao, accompanied by his father, turned himself in on Monday and confessed to the crime. He is now being held in detention as police put together a charge sheet.
The global death toll for coronavirus outbreak currently stands at 425. While the country has claimed they have had around 20,000 cases, many believe that number is not a representation of the true figures, which is suspected to be in the six figures.
A nurse from the Wuhan region had claimed in a now-viral video that at least 90,000 people were affected with the disease, a number that will only rise further as officials desperately try to contain its spread by locking down cities.