China has carried out the execution of a man and his girlfriend who were convicted of throwing two children from the 15th floor of a high-rise apartment in Chongqing. This shocking incident had caused nationwide outrage, leading to their recent approval of the death sentence by the country's top court. The condemned individuals, Zhang Bo and Ye Chengchen, committed the heinous act on November 2, 2020, causing the deaths of a two-year-old girl and a one-year-old boy, as reported by the Global Times.
Police investigations revealed that Zhang and Ye had conspired to murder the two infant children, leading to charges of "intentional homicide" filed by local prosecutors. The Chongqing public prosecutor's office issued an indictment stating that the couple, who met through social media, entered into a relationship. Ye, making it clear that she would not stay with Zhang if he had children, influenced his decision. Zhang, being a divorcee, was pressured by this ultimatum.
Starting in February 2020, Zhang and Ye initiated plans to murder Zhang's two children. Their discussions, held face-to-face or through WeChat, a widely used Chinese messaging service, focused on orchestrating an accidental death that would result in the infants' demise. In the initial trial in July 2021, the children's mother, Chen Meilin, appeared in court, seeking compensation and advocating for severe punishment for her ex-husband and his girlfriend.
On December 28, 2021, a Chongqing court sentenced Zhang and Ye to death for the intentional homicide of Zhang's two children. Subsequently, the convicted individuals filed appeals. In a second trial on April 6 of the following year, Zhang retracted his earlier confession, contending that his children's deaths were the result of an "accident," as reported by Global Times.
A couple in Chongqing who threw two children to their deaths in 2020 were executed Wednesday, shortly after their sentence was upheld by China’s Supreme People’s Court.
— Sixth Tone (@SixthTone) January 31, 2024
The court determined the kids’ father, Zhang Bo, and his girlfriend, Ye Chengchen, had committed premeditated… pic.twitter.com/wpcuwuy2li
China's Supreme People’s Court, the highest judicial authority, upheld the death penalty for Zhang and Ye, affirming that they deliberately and unlawfully took the lives of others. The top court concluded that their actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide.
Image Source: Twitter