Yu Haiming never expected to be well-known, but that changed when he became involved in a case of assault that has dominated headlines in the past week.
The 41-year-old fought back against Liu Hailong, who attacked him after a traffic spat in Kunshan in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and stabbed Liu to death.
On Saturday, local police dismissed the case, saying Yu's actions constituted justifiable self-defense and he should be exempt from criminal responsibility.
Yu, a native of Shaanxi province, works in the maintenance department of a restaurant in Kunshan. His wife, two children and in-laws also live in the city, according to a local media report.
Yu has been married once before, and has a son who required treatment for health problems. His father died two years ago, and his mother lives with his brother in Hanzhong, their hometown, in Shaanxi.
Friends said Yu is a good person, according to Beijing News. His gentle personality has led many friends to offer help since the incident, providing care for his family and consulting lawyers on his behalf. They also offered to raise money to hire a legal team for his defense, according to the report.
His employer has held his job open during his period of detention and continued to pay his salary. The manager of the restaurant's human resources department, surnamed Gu, said the company respected Yu's decision to defend himself, according to cover.cn, a news app run by the West China City Daily.
"We have held the position for him, and we respect his enthusiasm. He is still an employee of our restaurant," Gu said, adding that before the incident Yu lived in the company's dorm, not with his wife and children.
He has not returned to the dorm since his release, and has possibly been staying with his family.
According to Tencent news, Yu, who has a brother and sister, is his family's youngest child. His brother told Tencent that Yu is a good man who would need to be severely provoked before retaliating. He said Yu, who previously worked as a miner and a cook, only visited his hometown during festivals and when his parents were in poor health.
