Former Peking University student given death sentence for killing his mother

A former Peking University student was sentenced to death by a court in Fujian province for killing his mother.

The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court said Wu Xieyu was also found guilty of fraud and illegally buying identity cards and it decided to give the 26-year-old the death penalty after combining the punishments. It also fined him 103,000 yuan.

Prosecutors said Wu prepared to kill his mother, Xie Tianqin, then 48, in early 2015 and carried out the act at her home in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, on July 10 that year with knives he had bought online.

Then he "borrowed" 1.44 million yuan ($220,000) from his relatives and friends after cheating them by saying his mother would accompany him when he went abroad to study, it said, adding the money was squandered by him.

Xie's body was found in February 2016 in her apartment in the faculty dormitory of a middle school in Fuzhou, after family members became suspicious for failing to get in touch with her for a long time.

To avoid arrest, Wu bought more than 10 ID cards from others and spent about three years on the run.

In April 2019, Wu was caught, and he stood trial in December 2020 after being charged with intentional killing, fraud and illegal identity card purchase by prosecutors.