Our staff reporter Yuan Zhang and Feng Pu - Before the trial concluded, when the presiding judge asked whether Yao Caiqiu had anything more to say, Yao suddenly knelt down in front of the plaintiff Qu's family members, sobbing, "I am extremely sorry."
Yesterday morning, Yao Caiqiu was tried at the First Intermediate People's Court on charges of intentional homicide. When asked about the reason for killing Qu, he said, "Thinking about the debts I owed, I felt like I couldn't go on living, so in a fit of rage, I stabbed her to death."
Dispute arose after an unsuccessful house viewing
The prosecution accused that on the morning of September 12, 2006, 38-year-old Yao Caiqiu intentionally killed the female landlord at a private residence in Xihongmen Town, Daxing District. To this, Yao Caiqiu admitted everything.
According to his confession, one day in September 2006, Qu mentioned she wanted to rent out one of her houses, and they agreed to meet at 10:30 AM on the 12th.
That day, when Yao Caiqiu arrived, only Qu was home, and the agreed-upon house viewers were late. In court, Yao Caiqiu stated that he had made two phone calls urging the viewers, but eventually was told, "No time, not going to view the house." Qu believed he was deliberately deceiving her, which led to a quarrel between them.
Killed after hearing the plea
Yao Caiqiu claimed that their argument grew fiercer, and he then stabbed Qu in the stomach with a knife. They struggled for another five or six minutes.
He said that Qu finally pleaded, "Let's stop fighting, go to the hospital first, we can deal with the injuries later." But he thought since he had no money anyway, and fearing that Qu would extort him afterwards, he decided to kill her.
Suspect kneels down in apology during the trial
Before the trial concluded, when the presiding judge asked whether Yao Caiqiu had any more opinions to express, Yao suddenly knelt down in front of Qu's family members seated in the plaintiff's area, sobbing, "I am extremely sorry," before being escorted away by the bailiff.
In addition to the criminal case, the victim's family also claimed a total compensation of over 1.51 million yuan for death compensation and funeral expenses.
The court will announce its verdict on a later date.