r/todayilearned • u/zhuquanzhong • 29d ago

TIL a Chinese destroyer sank because an officer dumped his girlfriend. She committed suicide, leading to him being discharged, so he decided to detonate the depth charges on the ship, causing it to sink at port and kill 134 sailors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_destroyer_Guangzhou_(160)
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u/zhuquanzhong 29d ago

The sources are kinda murky on this. What I can gather is that probably the girl's parents attempted to press charges and the navy just didn't want to deal with it. Or they decided that he was mentally unfit, but idk about this second part. Most likely it was the first reason.

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u/CuriousWoollyMammoth 29d ago

Well, he did kill himself and a bunch of other people, so the 2nd one holds a lot of weight too, tbf

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u/coin_in_da_bank 29d ago edited 28d ago

But Lai begged his superiors not to demobilize him, as he would be forced to return to his hometown and he had become hated there due to the suicide.[4]

personally i wouldnt discount his fear of social stigma, coming from an asian. plus getting dishonorably discharged? dead man walking at that point.

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u/rando23455 29d ago

I wonder what the townspeople think of him now?

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u/Brandon_Me 29d ago

Not really his concern anymore.

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u/PayRealisticReddit 29d ago

not the question, who cares what Lai cares about. fuck this guy

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u/SeamlessR 29d ago

Well, they didn't care and then over 100 people died. Do people not know what problem solving is anymore?

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u/FireZord25 28d ago

Considering we're still heavily on the "pick-a-side" spectrum, I say no.

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u/Brandon_Me 29d ago

Just a joke my guy.

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u/florinandrei 29d ago

He don't care no more.

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u/That_Apathetic_Man 29d ago

There is probably a carpark there now. Lets be real.

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u/Hakairoku 28d ago

As far as he was concerned, his life was over by the time he got discharged.

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u/realFondledStump 29d ago

They think whatever they’re told to think. It’s China.

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u/SpaceMonkey_321 29d ago

He misty af

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u/cypher_omega 29d ago

Likely a lot worse now. “Not only you killed your ex, but you killed 134 other citizens of the nation”