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Chen Fuzhao

Chinese serial killer (1974–2004)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 8, 2026
Entity authorityQ98765405 ↗
Source-derived summary

Chen Fuzhao (Chinese: 陈福兆; c. 1974 – 18 June 2004) was a Chinese serial killer who murdered 17 people between May and June 2003 with rat poison in Longgang, Zhejiang.

Chen was an assistant clinical physician in Cangnan County. He began practicing Falun Gong in 1996, which was reported to be the motive for his crimes.

Background

According to Chen's relatives, he was born into a stable and happy family. He graduated from Hangzhou Jianggan District Health Cadre Training School in 1994 and shortly after began practicing medicine. He also married and had a daughter. Two years later, he purchased the book Zhuan Falun, which, according to his mother and siblings, began his unstable behavior and superstition.

Murders

Between 25 May and 26 June 2003, Chen distributed drinks laced with rat poison to homeless people around the streets of Longgang, resulting in 16 deaths. On 11 June, he attempted to poison four primary school students, but they threw the drinks away because they "smelled bad".

Editorial summary

“Chen Fuzhao” enters the record as chinese serial killer (1974–2004). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Chen, Fuzhao and Chinese can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1974, 2004, 2003, 1996—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1974-11-03. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Chen, Fuzhao and Chinese.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Chen Fuzhao” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Chen, Fuzhao and Chinese provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q98765405. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974, 2004, 2003 and 1996.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Chen Fuzhao”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Chen Fuzhao primary sources, Chen Fuzhao archive and Chen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Chen Fuzhao” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.