Jiangxi woman stands on trial again for her role in killings

Lao Rongzhi, who had been sentenced to death for her involvement in multiple killings about a year ago, appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing to appeal the ruling.

Wearing handcuffs and protective clothing due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Lao appeared at the Jiangxi Provincial High People's Court at 9:30 am on Thursday, according to video footage released by the court.

As of press time, the hearing was still ongoing.

Lao was convicted of intentional homicide, robbery and kidnapping and was given the death penalty by the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court in Jiangxi in September last year after it combined the punishments.

The intermediate court also stripped Lao of her political rights and ordered that all her personal property be confiscated.

Lao appealed to the Jiangxi high court, claiming that she was manipulated by her ex-boyfriend Fa Ziying. She also apologized to the victims' families and offered to pay them compensation when the intermediate court heard the case in December 2020.

Lao was born in Jiangxi in 1974 and used to be a primary school teacher. She and Fa worked together to commit crimes from 1996 to 1999. She would pick targets at entertainment venues, and Fa would commit violent acts against them.

During the period, the pair participated in robberies, kidnappings and killings in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi; Wenzhou, Zhejiang province; Changzhou in Jiangsu province; and Hefei in Anhui province. Their actions caused seven deaths.

Fa was captured in 1999. He was sentenced to death and executed later that year.

Lao spent about 20 years on the run, using false identities to evade capture until she was caught in Fujian province in 2019. She was charged with the three crimes in August 2020.