A policeman in China poses as a couple’s dead son for a decade to comfort their sick mother

A police officer in eastern China has acted as a couple’s deceased son for 11 years, offering comfort to the paralyzed mother and forming a deep bond beyond blood.

In 2003, Xia Zhanhai and his wife Liang Qiaoying, who live in northern China’s Shanxi Province, lost their son in a gas leak accident.

The tragedy also left the mother paralyzed and cognitively impaired, with the mental capacity of a five-year-old child.

The son’s death weighed heavily on Liang, so Xia soothed her with a lie, saying that her son was working in a distant city.

At one point, Xia saw Jiang Jingwei, a Shanghai police officer, on a TV show and noticed his striking resemblance to his late son.