Death sentence for man who killed doctor carried out

Sun Wenbin, who killed a doctor at a Beijing hospital in December, was executed on Friday after China's top court approved his death sentence.

The Beijing High People's Court announced the execution, made by the municipal No 3 Intermediate People's Court, via its official account on WeChat, a popular instant messaging tool in the country, saying Sun's legitimate rights were fully protected during the period.

Sun, 55, was sentenced to death by the intermediate people's court for intentional homicide on Jan 16, after he was identified as fatally stabbing doctor Yang Wen with a knife at the Civil Aviation General Hospital in the capital's Chaoyang district on Dec 24.

Yang was seriously injured at the time and died the following day.

Sun was unhappy with the ruling and appealed to the high people's court.

But a month later, the higher court upheld the ruling and rejected Sun's appeal after a second trial, clarifying the verdict made by the lower court was sound, with sufficient evidence, correct application of the law and a reasonable sentence.

It submitted the death penalty affirmation to the Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, for a review because Chinese Criminal Procedure Law stipulates a death sentence can be carried out only when getting an approval from the highest court.

Since Sun's case happened, the capital has improved the doctor-patient communication mechanism to ensure the safety of medical staff, and created an orderly hospital environment.

In addition, the national top legislature also adopted a law on promotion of basic medical and healthcare at the end of last year, calling for people in all walks of life to care about and respect medical workers, keep the medical environment and service in order and establish better relationships between hospitals and patients.

The law bans any organization or individual from threatening or harming the personal safety or dignity of medics.