[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
On May 30, 2023, the Fujian Provincial Higher People's Court publicly announced the second-instance verdict in the appeal case of Wu Xieyu for intentional homicide, fraud, and illegal trading of identity documents, ruling to reject the appeal and uphold the original judgment.

 
 

Case review
On March 3, 2016, Fuzhou police issued a reward notice stating that on February 14 of that year, police discovered a woman, Xie Tianqin, dead in a staff dormitory of a Fuzhou middle school. Her 22-year-old son, Wu Xieyu, was identified as a major suspect, and police offered a reward of 10,000 yuan for his capture.

 
 

According to Wu Xieyu's later confession, at 5:00 p.m. on July 10, 2015, while his mother was changing shoes at home, Wu Xieyu used a pre-prepared dumbbell bar to repeatedly strike Xie Tianqin's face, causing her death. Subsequently, Wu Xieyu falsely claimed that Xie Tianqin was accompanying him to study abroad in the United States and defrauded seven relatives and friends of 1.44 million yuan under the pretext of needing living expenses, tuition, and financial proof, which he squandered. During this period, to evade capture, Wu Xieyu purchased over ten identity documents from others.
 
On April 21, 2019, after 1,380 days on the run, Wu Xieyu was apprehended by airport police at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport while seeing someone off, through the "Sky Eye" surveillance system. On May 27, the Jin'an District People's Procuratorate of Fuzhou approved Wu Xieyu's arrest on suspicion of intentional homicide, fraud, and illegal trading of identity documents.
 
On December 24, 2020, the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court held the first-instance trial of Wu Xieyu's case involving intentional homicide, fraud, and illegal trading of identity documents.
 
On the morning of August 26, 2021, the "Wu Xieyu Matricide Case" was sentenced in the first instance at the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court. Wu Xieyu was found guilty of intentional homicide, fraud, and illegal trading of identity documents. For multiple crimes, he was sentenced to death, deprived of political rights for life, and fined 103,000 yuan. The court held that Wu Xieyu, in carrying out the intentional homicide, had engaged in long-term premeditation and planning, exhibited extreme subjective malice, and used cruel methods. His act of killing his mother severely violated family ethics, trampled on normal human emotions, and constituted an extremely serious crime. Although he confessed truthfully after being apprehended, it was insufficient for a lighter sentence. Wu Xieyu later filed an appeal.
 
On March 21, 2022, the Fujian High Court announced that the case had been "suspended" during the second-instance trial due to "reasons that cannot be resisted."
 
On May 19, 2023, the Fujian Provincial High People's Court publicly heard the second-instance trial of appellant Wu Xieyu for intentional homicide, fraud, and buying and selling identity documents. After the trial, the court announced an adjournment and scheduled a later date for the verdict.
 
 
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 232: Intentional Homicide
Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years; if the circumstances are minor, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.
 
Article 266: Crime of Fraud
Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated. Where this Law otherwise provides, such provisions shall prevail.
 
Article 280, Paragraph 3
Whoever forges, alters, or buys or sells resident identity cards, passports, social security cards, driver's licenses, or other documents that can be used to prove identity according to law shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
As the saying goes, even crows have the instinct to feed their parents. Wu Xieyu, as a person with cognition, actually harbored the intention to kill his mother. Regardless of his mother's nurturing grace and upbringing, Wu Xieyu's admission to Peking University was also largely due to his mother's efforts. However, based solely on his own delusions, Wu Xieyu believed that after his father's death, his mother's and his own lives were meaningless, and thus he ended his mother's life in one fell swoop. Yet, everyone's right to life is sacred and inviolable; even a biological son cannot end his mother's life. In this regard, everyone is equal before the law.
 
Now, Wu Xieyu has an extremely strong desire to survive, but whether his repentance is genuine or feigned, his crimes are too severe. He not only violated his mother's right to life but also defrauded other relatives and friends, infringing on their property and deceiving their emotions. Additionally, Wu Xieyu purchased more than ten fake identity cards, severely impacting public security. Now, a death sentence is a fitting punishment for Wu Xieyu's crimes.