Taizhou, September 11 (reported by Chai Yanfei and correspondent Wang Xianfu) -- On the afternoon of September 11, the Intermediate People's Court of Taizhou City in Zhejiang Province handed down a first-instance verdict in the case of an innocent college student being murdered at Taizhou University. The defendant, Chen Bingru, was sentenced to death for intentional homicide and provoking trouble; the other three defendants, Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, and Shu Qing, were sentenced to three years and six months, three years, and two years in prison respectively for provoking trouble; the defendant Wang Xianguo was also found guilty of provoking trouble, but due to minor criminal circumstances, he was exempted from criminal punishment. The court also ruled that the five defendants should jointly compensate the victim's family with a total of RMB 207,000 in economic losses, and bear joint liability.
The court found that on several nights in the second half of 2008, the four defendants, Chen Bingru, Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, and Shu Qing, in order to pick quarrels with others and seek excitement, drove drunk to the Pingqiao residential area, Taizhou Radio and TV University, and the vicinity of the Donghai Avenue in the Development Zone in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province on five occasions, beating up five unfamiliar men who were passing by for no reason just for fun. On the night of March 11, 2009, after drinking in Wenling, Chen Bingru went to Jiaojiang and gathered Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, Shu Qing, and Wang Xianguo. They drove to the Pingqiao residential area and the vicinity of Taizhou Radio and TV University, intending to pick quarrels with foreigners or college students for fun. On a roadside in the Pingqiao residential area, Chen Bingru got out of the car to look for targets, spotting Zhang Yangke, a student of Taizhou University, walking alone. He rushed forward and grabbed Zhang Yangke, then pulled out a folding knife he was carrying and stabbed Zhang Yangke violently in the left chest, causing Zhang Yangke's aorta to rupture and die from massive bleeding.
Defendant Chen Bingru had no objection to the criminal facts charged in the indictment and requested lenient punishment. His defense counsel argued that the defendant did not have the subjective intention to illegally deprive the life of the victim Zhang Yangke, so the charge of intentional homicide in the indictment could not be established and should be defined as intentional injury. The defense counsels of the other two defendants believed that the evidence for the charge of provoking trouble in the indictment was insufficient.
The court held that the part where the defendant Chen Bingru stabbed with a knife was the left chest, which is a vital part of the human body, and Chen Bingru knew that his stabbing behavior would cause the death of the victim. In conclusion, his behavior met the constitutive elements of intentional homicide, so the defense opinion proposed by his defense counsel regarding the nature of the act could not stand. Chen Bingru sent text messages one after another to Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, and Shu Qing to gather them together to beat others for no reason, and clearly informed them of the purpose before getting into the car. Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, and Shu Qing already knew the purpose of this trip when they were driving to the destination or at the time, but still went along. Moreover, the four defendants had repeatedly beaten others for no reason before the incident. In light of these facts, the actions of the defendants Xu Wei, Lin Weiwei, and Shu Qing going along strengthened the defendant Chen Bingru's intent and supported his actions, thus constituting a joint crime. Therefore, the defense opinions of the defense counsels of the defendants Xu Wei and Shu Qing about the fact that the act of provoking trouble could not be recognized in the killing of the victim Zhang Yangke could not stand and were rejected.
It is understood that these five defendants were born in 1988 and 1989 respectively, all locals of Taizhou, and all had secondary vocational education. Chen Bingru's parents were doing business outside all year round, and Chen Bingru usually had nothing to do, liked drinking, and sought release and pleasure in fighting.
The victim, Zhang Yangke, was only 19 years old when he was killed, from Yueqing in Wenzhou, studying in the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at Taizhou University, in his sophomore year, and was the only son in the family. During the trial, his parents, as plaintiffs, filed a criminal civil action lawsuit requesting that the five defendants compensate for death compensation, living and educational expenses, and mental damage consolation totaling RMB 2.01 million. (End)