Chinese feng shui master held at knifepoint over ‘vile’ funeral date suggestion; man jailed
Man gets eight months for assaulting geomancer recruited to find auspicious date for his mother’s burial
A man from southwest China has been sentenced to eight months in prison for extorting money from a feng shui master he accused of suggesting an “unlucky” date for his mother’s funeral, local media reported.
The story began in October, when the man from Sichuan province, identified only as Liu, hired the geomancer, who was not named, to provide an auspicious date on which to hold the burial ceremony, Legal Evening News reported.
After receiving the suggestion Liu decided to check it with several other feng shui practitioners. He was dismayed, however, when they told him the date was actually unlucky.
Believing he had been deliberately misled and bent on revenge, Liu contacted the original diviner and invited him to his home, the report said.
Once there, Liu threatened his victim with a knife, beat him and demanded compensation of 7,400 yuan (US$1,100). The geomancer had only 400 yuan in his wallet, so Liu ordered him to go to a bank to get the rest.
After receiving what he felt he was owed, Liu let his victim leave, but was arrested two days later, the report said.
At his trial in the city of Nanchong, prosecutors said Liu became angry after discovering the feng shui master’s “vile choice” of a date for his mother’s funeral. As well as being sentenced to serve a prison term he was fined 3,000 yuan.
