Man in China gets nose bitten off while trying to stop another man from assaulting woman

A 69-year-old man in China's Hunan province apparently had his nose bitten off while trying to stop another man from allegedly assaulting a woman in public.

The injured man has since been hailed as a hero for his bravery.

Zeng Fanlin was among a list of individuals recognised by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission in the second quarter of 2026, the Shenzhen Evening News reported.

Woman assaulted

The incident occurred in a village in April 2026.

A man allegedly caused trouble there suddenly.

His actions included assaulting a woman in public and strangling her, according to 8world.

Upon witnessing this, Zeng immediately intervened and tried to stop him.

Bit off nose

However, the assailant bit Zeng's nose during the struggle, tearing off a chunk of flesh, finance.sina.com reported.

Zeng refused to let go despite the pain and held the suspect until police arrived, with other villagers joining in to help subdue the assailant.

8world reported that the assailant continued to struggle before biting off Zeng's nose and swallowing it.

According to thepaper.cn, the villagers then tied the assailant's feet and managed to subdue him, after which the police arrived and took him into custody.

Almost lost consciousness

Zeng said he initially did not feel anything.

He told local reporters on Apr. 27 that it was only when someone told him about his injury that he touched his nose and realised almost all of it was gone.

Noting that the pain intensified and the bleeding would not stop, Zeng said: "When I got to the hospital, I was in so much pain that I almost lost consciousness."

He was found to have extensive soft tissue loss, which made his injury complex and required significant reconstructive operations.

The Shenzhen Evening News reported that following a detailed treatment plan developed by a hospital, Zeng has since completed the second phase of surgery, with an expected six-month full recovery period.