A student looks at photos of Wang Yang, a college student who was stabbed to death while trying to stop a cell phone theft, at his funeral yesterday. [Shanghai Daily]

With the Beatles' "Yesterday" playing in the background, family members, classmates, city officials and teachers from the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts said goodbye yesterday to Wang Yang, a student who was stabbed to death while trying to stop a cell phone theft last weekend.

More than 600 people joined Wang's family at the Longhua Funeral Home yesterday afternoon to mourn the 19-year-old. The funeral home was adorned with thousands of paper cranes made by Wang's schoolmates.

"He was a young man who persisted in everything he wanted to do," said Mao Weizhang, who taught Wang how to paint since he was nine.

Chen Limin, dean of the institute, praised Wang as "the pride of Shanghai, a model for college students."

"He was a good student, honest and willing to help others," tearful classmate Duan Weijia said of Wang, who was honored by the city government last Tuesday.

After spotting a man stealing a cell phone from the institute's cafeteria last Sunday, Wang chased the thief into the toilet of an Internet cafe. The cornered man allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Wang, before fleeing the scene.

On Monday, police detained Wei Fenghua, 28, as a suspect in the murder.