12 Years for Extortion Leading to Suicide: Is the Verdict on Zhai Xinxin Too Lenient?
In the early morning of September 7, 2017, Su Xiangmao, the founder of the mobile app WePhone, committed suicide by jumping from a building. He left a suicide note stating that his death was related to his ex-wife Zhai Xinxin.
According to the content of the suicide note and information provided by Su's family members: In March 2017, the defendant Zhai Xinxin （"Zhai") and the victim Su Xiangmao ("Su") established a romantic relationship.
In May of the same year, the two purchased a property in Hainan Province with a total price of over 3.19 million yuan, and Su paid a down payment of over 1.99 million yuan for the property. On June 7 of the same year, they registered their marriage.
Between July and September, Zhai proposed a divorce. She threatened to report Su and the company he operated, demanding 10 million yuan as "mental damages" and claiming ownership of the Hainan property.
On July 18, Su was forced to pay Zhai 6.6 million yuan, and later transferred the ownership of the Hainan property to Zhai.
After obtaining the aforementioned property and money, Zhai continued to threaten Su multiple times to demand the remaining amount. Su's company suffered a capital chain break, and at the same time, he faced constant threats from Zhai Xinxin. Helpless, Su committed suicide.
In 2018, Su's family members filed a lawsuit against Zhai Xinxin, requesting the court to revoke the gifts worth nearly 10 million yuan that Su had given to Zhai, and demanding the return of nearly 1 million yuan in cash.
On March 31, 2023, the court ruled that Zhai Xinxin should return cash, a car, and other assets worth nearly 10 million yuan to Su's family. At the same time, the court revoked Zhai Xinxin's personal ownership of two properties located in Hainan and Beijing.
In June 2023, Zhai Xinxin was detained by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on suspicion of extortion.
On September 19, 2025, the court publicly pronounced the verdict: Zhai was convicted of extortion and sentenced to 12 years of fixed-term imprisonment, in addition to a fine of 100,000 yuan. She was also ordered to compensate the plaintiffs (Su's family) in the incidental civil lawsuit for economic losses such as funeral expenses and transportation costs caused by the victim Su's death, totaling more than 70,000 yuan.
After trial, the court held that: The defendant Zhai's actions constituted the crime of extortion, with an "especially huge amount" involved. Evidence in the case showed that the marital relationship between Zhai and Su lasted only 42 days, and they had no community property of the couple. The property Zhai demanded belonged to Su's personal assets.
Zhai had no legal basis for claiming compensation or damages from Su during the divorce proceedings. She committed the act of extortion for the purpose of obtaining property.
The court made the sentencing in accordance with the law after comprehensively considering the nature, circumstances, and social harm of Zhai's crime. The compensation claims made by the plaintiffs in the incidental civil lawsuit conformed to legal provisions, and the court fully supported them.
Eight years have passed, and the criminal verdict on Zhai Xinxin has finally been issued. Some people praise the verdict, but many others believe the sentencing is too lenient. What is your opinion?
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