Man given death sentence for killing wife seeks lighter punishment

A man in Shanghai who killed his wife and hid her body in a freezer for three months requested a lighter punishment during his hearing at the Shanghai High People's Court on Thursday, after he was sentenced to death in August.

The attorney for the convicted killer Zhu Xiaodong, 30, pleaded for a lighter punishment for Zhu, given that Zhu turned himself in, confessed, and expressed remorse in court for the killing, which was impulsive and caused by marriage and family discord.

However, the procurator insisted the court uphold the original verdict of death sentence, saying that enough evidence suggested that Zhu premeditated the murder and committed the crime in an extremely cruel way with great harm to the society.

During the hearing in August, the court confirmed that Zhu strangled his wife, Yang Liping, 30, during an argument in October 2016 at their home in Shanghai's Hongkou district. They were married for 10 months.

After killing her, he wrapped the body in a red quilt and hid it in a fridge on the balcony for 106 days, during which time he posed as his wife on social networking sites and through text messages to her parents and friends.

The court said the verdict will be announced at a later date.