Had Hiding For 20 Years, Woman In China Murder Sentenced To Death

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BEIJING - A murderer has been sentenced to death by the Jiangxi High Court, China, after hiding on the run for 20 years.

The appellate court also sentenced the woman, named Lao Rongzhi, to revoking her political rights and ordering the return of all her assets to be confiscated.

Lao appealed the ruling, Chinese media reported on Sunday.

The court found Lao, who was born in 1974, guilty of a series of acts of premeditated murder, kidnapping and robbery.

In its verdict, the panel of judges revealed that Lao and his former male friend Fa Ziying had committed the crime during 1996-1999.

Lao looked for targets in entertainment venues, while Fa was the executor.

During that period, the couple was involved in robbery, kidnapping, and murder in Nanchang (Jiangxi Province), Wenzhou (Zhejiang), Changzhou (Jiangsu), and Hefei (Anhui). As a result of the couple's actions, seven people died.

Fa who was caught in 1999 was sentenced to death and was executed a year later.

Lao was declared a fugitive since his date's death at the hands of the executioner and used a false identity to escape before being arrested in Fujian Province on November 28, 2019. On the run, he disguised himself as an elementary school teacher in Jiangxi.

Lao has apologized to the victim's family and paid compensation. But that was not enough to help Lao escape the death penalty.

"Despite admitting his guilt, Lao cannot be given a light sentence because his crimes were very serious and were carried out in very cruel ways. He has caused the loss of other people's lives, had a major impact on society at large, and his crimes were very serious," the jury said. high-level who is domiciled in Nanchang.

Lao Shengqiao, the defendant's older brother, was dissatisfied with the judge's decision and pushed his younger brother to appeal to a higher level.

"I can't believe my little sister took the lives of several people. I am willing to help her compensate the families of the victims," he was quoted as saying by The Paper news portal, Sunday, September 12. Only the family of a victim asked Lao for compensation. This is Zhu Dahong, whose husband was murdered in Hefei in 1998. The court on Thursday, September 9 ordered Mr. Lao to pay 48,000 yuan (Rp. 106 million) in compensation to Zhu.

Zhu was satisfied with the amount of compensation he received, even though what he had previously asked for was 1.35 million yuan (Rp 2.9 billion).