Postgraduate suspected of committing suicide because of pressure from supervisor

A third-year postgraduate student Tao Chongyuan from Wuhan University of Technology in central China’s Hubei Province jumped from the sixth floor of his dormitory building on Monday morning, only two days before his 26th birthday.

Tao Chongyuan, a third-year postgraduate student from Wuhan University of Technology in central China’s Hubei Province. [File Photo: CGTN]

Local police originally determined the case to be noncriminal, but three days later Tao’s family came forward saying that they believed Tao’s death to be related to the longtime pressure he had experienced from his supervisor Wang Pan, associate professor from the university’s School of Automation.

A stir has also been caused on Chinese social media after Tao’s sister posted several screenshots of the chat records and emails between Tao and Wang on Sina Weibo.

The messages show that Tao was asked to assist Wang with personal affairs, which the family says, have influenced Tao’s personal life and mental health.

“During his postgraduate study, my brother [Tao] was frequently asked to do housework and prepare supper at Wang’s home in the evening,” said his sister to Beijing News.

“I have suffered a lot, but I have to be strong,” Tao wrote in a WeChat message to his family four days before the tragedy.

Tao’s sister told Beijing News, that Tao called their mom the day before he committed suicide saying that he didn't feel good. Feeling worried, their mother came to meet him at school the next morning. Tao told her that he wanted to be free of his supervisor before returning to his dormitory. But then he suddenly ran and jumped from the building.

On Saturday, a letter apparently written by Wang was unveiled, which states that Tao’s death was related to his depression. The university has not commented yet but has vowed to investigate the incident.   

Cases of students mistreated by professors have become prominent in recent years with several tragedies already documented within the last year. In December 2017, a 28-year-old PhD candidate at Xi’an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi Province was found drowned in a river 10 kilometers from campus. His family believed that his professor burdened him with administrative tasks as well as her own personal affairs, leading to his early death.