THE Fujian High People’s Court yesterday upheld the death sentence handed down to Wu Xieyu, a former Peking University student who killed his mother, after it heard the appealing case.

The 28-year-old Wu was given the death penalty by the Intermediate People’s Court in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province, in August 2021 for the crimes of intentional homicide, fraud and the illegal purchasing of identity cards. He was also fined 103,000 yuan (US$14,639).

Wu later appealed the sentence to the high court, and the appealing case was heard May 19.

According to the original ruling, Wu thought the life of his 48-year-old mother, Xie Tianqin, was meaningless after his father died of an illness. On July 10, 2015, when Xie went back home, Wu hit her repeatedly in the head and face with a dumbbell, resulting in her death.

To cover up the killing, Wu “borrowed” 1.44 million yuan from his relatives and friends by telling them his mother would accompany him to go abroad as he would pursue study overseas.

In reality, Wu squandered the money. To hide his identity and avoid arrest, Wu also purchased more than 10 ID cards.

Xie’s body was found Feb. 14, 2016 in her apartment, a faculty dormitory of a middle school, after the family became suspicious when she failed to contact them for an extended period of time.

Wu was named as a suspect by local police and was captured in Chongqing in April 2019 after being on the run for more than three years.

The intermediate court said in the original ruling that Wu’s behavior has constituted the crimes of intentional killing, as he had premeditated killing his mother for a long time. Although Wu confessed to the crimes, the court decided not to leniently punish him because his offenses were extremely calculated.

The high court said that it upheld the original ruling, as it was made based on sufficient evidence, with correct application of the law and appropriate sentencing. Its litigation process was also in line with the law.

The case sparked huge social attention because of Wu’s outstanding performance in his studies. Chinese media reported he was a top student at Peking University, a leading institution renowned at home and abroad.

(China Daily)