A CHINESE court yesterday sentenced a convicted serial killer to death for a murder he confessed to a decade ago, and 19 years after a teenager was executed for the crime.

    Zhao Zhihong, 42, was convicted of murder, rape and robbery by the Hohhot Intermediate People’s Court in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

    Zhao was arrested in 2005 and confessed to a string of rape and murder cases, including the 1996 rape in a public toilet in Hohhot that was pinned on 18-year-old Huugjilt.

    Huugjilt, a factory worker, had already been tried, convicted, sentenced and executed, being put to death 61 days after the woman was killed.

    Huugjilt’s family had tried for years to prove the teenager’s innocence, and he was finally exonerated in December last year, clearing the way for Zhao to face trial.

    The court additionally ordered Zhao to pay 102,768 yuan (US$16,445) in compensation to his victims.

    Zhao first stood trial in late 2006 for raping and killing nine women and girls, seven other counts of rape, as well as robbery and larceny between 1996 and 2005. His trial resumed Jan. 5, more than eight years after his first trial.

    The court’s morning session, which was open to the public, focused on Zhao’s robbery and larceny charges. The afternoon session was closed to the public as it focused on the rape and murder cases.

    According to the court verdict, Zhao committed 21 crimes between 1996 and 2005 in Hohhot and Ulanqab. Besides a series of intentional murders that left 10 people dead, it is alleged he raped a total of 13 women and girls in the period.

    Zhao was also convicted of using violence and threats to appropriate property worth 31,400 yuan, and stealing a further 3,500 yuan in several burglary cases.

    The court said Zhao’s motives were despicable, his measures cruel and the consequences serious, thus it refused to give Zhao a lenient punishment despite him confessing to some of the crimes.

    Huugjilt’s parents attended yesterday’s court session.

    Feng Zhiming, the police officer who was in charge of Huugjilt’s case, is under investigation.

    Huugjilt’s parents have been awarded State compensation of more than 2 million yuan after their son’s acquittal.

    (SD-Xinhua)