China has executed a man and his girlfriend after they threw two children from the 15th floor of a high-rise apartment in Chongqing, in a case that sparked a nationwide uproar, state media reported. The execution came as the country’s top court recently approved their death sentence.
Zhang Bo, and his girlfriend, Ye Chengchen, had thrown the man’s two-year-old daughter and one-year-old son to their deaths from the 15th floor on November 2, 2020, Global Times reported.
Investigations by the police found out that Zhang and Ye had conspired to murder the two infant children and local prosecutors filed charges against the duo for “intentional homicide”.
According to an indictment issued by the Chongqing public prosecutor’s office, Zhang and Ye met through social media and got involved in a relationship. Zhang, who was a divorcee, was repeatedly told by Ye that she would not stay with him if he had children.
In February 2020, Zhang and Ye began plotting strategies for killing the former’s two children. They discussed several times by talking face-to-face or through WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging service. They ultimately decided that they would plot an accidental kill, which would lead to the infant children’s deaths.
During the first trial in the case in July 2021, the children’s mother, Chen Meilin, sought compensation in court and demanded strict punishment for her ex-husband and his girlfriend.
A court in Chongqing sentenced Zhang and Ye to death on December 28, 2021, for the crime of intentional homicide. Zhang and Ye then filed appeals.
In a second trial held on April 6 last year, Zhang withdrew his previous confession of committing the crime in a court, claiming that his children’s deaths were due to an “accident“, according to Global Times.
The Supreme People’s Court, China’s highest court, upheld the death penalty for Zhang and Ye and ruled that they had intentionally and illegally deprived the lives of others. The top court observed that their actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide.
