CCTV footage aired for the first time by state broadcaster CCTV's "Law Online" program shows a man violently dragging his fiancée from an elevator before raping her, in a case that has drawn significant public attention in Shanxi.
The video shows the defendant, Xi, grappling with his fiancée Wu in the elevator of their intended marital home on May 2, 2023, the day after their engagement. Wu is seen struggling forcefully, trying to pry his hand off and bracing her feet against the elevator door, but is ultimately overpowered and dragged out. She was then taken into the apartment and raped, after which she escaped and reported the crime to police.
The Yanggao County People's Court in Shanxi convicted Xi of rape on December 25, 2023, sentencing him to three years in prison. Xi appealed, but the Datong Intermediate People's Court upheld the original verdict on April 16, 2025.
The court stated that evidence, including the victim's determined resistance throughout the ordeal, mixed DNA on bedsheets, bruises on her body, and a torn curtain, proved she did not consent to sexual relations.
Yang Dongyuan, chief judge of the court's second criminal tribunal, emphasized that the core principle of marriage and relationships is "voluntary and clear consent," and any act violating another's will crosses a legal red line into crime.
