A woman in Pingba, China, scared away an attempted rapist by pretending to cough and telling him that she is from Wuhan.
The suspect, identified as 25 year-old Xiao, broke into the victim’s house last Friday night, and tried to rape her.
The victim, named Yi, woke up with the stranger in her room and started shouting for help, but the suspect grabbed her neck and covered her mouth.
She managed to push him away and started shouting that she just came back from Wuhan and infected, and that she is alone at her home in self-quarantine.
She also pretended to cough as she pushed the suspect away, and her efforts were not in vain, as the suspect got scared and fled the scene right away.
However, he managed to rob her of her phone worth 3,000 yuan and her bag with 80 yuan in it ($440 total).
This incident happened in the township of Pingba, and is about three-hour drive from Wuhan, where the infamous coronavirus originated.
According to the police, Xiao is a local resident, who had an argument with his family, left that night and had no money, which is why it was his intention to rob Yi.
When he managed to break into the victim’s home and saw her alone in her bed, he thought of carrying out sexual assault as well.
Yi contacted the authorities right away, and the Pingba police station began an investigation and manhunt right away.
The authorities admit that it was particularly hard to look for the suspect since all residents were wearing facemasks as protection from the coronavirus.
They were able to narrow down the suspect by descriptions of his body shape and accent, and found out that the suspect usually works at night.
Not long after, Xiao, together with his father, went to the police, admitted his guilt and turned himself in on early Monday morning.