Latest news with #IntermediatePeople'sCourt
The Star
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Chinese actor Zhang Yiyang executed by firing squad after murdering underage girlfriend
Chinese singer-actor Zhang Yiyang was executed by firing squad on Dec 18, 2024, after being convicted of the murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend. He was 33 at the time of his death. According to a recently released court document from the Intermediate People's Court of Xianyang City in Shaanxi province, Zhang lured the victim – who was 15 when they started dating – into a forest in Xingping city on Feb 26, 2022. When she expressed her intention to end the relationship, a heated argument broke out, during which Zhang fatally stabbed her in the neck. Following the attack, Zhang returned home to change his clothes and disposed of both the bloodied garments and the victim's mobile phone by throwing them into a river. He then checked into a hotel, where he attempted to take his own life but was discovered by a staff member who alerted the police. The court described Zhang's actions as extremely violent and socially harmful. His pattern of emotional manipulation, including repeated threats of suicide to control the victim, further influenced the court's decision to uphold his death sentence after a failed appeal. The case sent shockwaves across mainland China. It marks the first time a celebrity in the country was legally executed for a criminal offense. In the wake of the news, netizens slammed the posthumous release of Zhang's film Jie You Yin Sheng Guan, which premiered in March this year. Users on Douban (a Chinese online database for film, books, music and more), also bombarded the film's page with one-star ratings, condemning its release given that its lead actor had been executed for the murder of an underage girl. Those suffering from mental health issues or contemplating suicide can reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935 or 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999 or 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Jakim's Family, Social and Community care centre (011-1959 8214 on WhatsApp); and Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929, visit for a full list of numbers and operating hours, or email sam@
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Former Chinese chip boss gets suspended death sentence in corruption case
China convicted the former chairman of a once-highflying computer-chip conglomerate on corruption charges and gave him a de facto life sentence, concluding a high-profile case that had shaken the country's semiconductor industry. The verdict against Zhao Weiguo, former chairman of government-supported Tsinghua Unigroup, came more than two years after Chinese authorities first announced a corruption probe against him. Zhao stepped down as chairman in 2022, around the same time when Chinese media outlet Caixin reported that he had been taken away by Chinese authorities for investigation. Prosecutors accused Zhao of abusing his power to provide benefits to relatives and friends, as well as illegally acquiring state assets valued in 2023 at more than 470 million yuan, equivalent today to $65 million. He was also charged with arranging improper transactions that incurred losses for a listed company and resulted in more than 890 million yuan in economic losses for the state, equivalent today to $124 million. On Wednesday, more than 19 months after Zhao stood trial in September 2023, the Intermediate People's Court in the northeastern city of Jilin sentenced the former executive to death with a two-year reprieve, according to state broadcaster China Central Television. Such penalties are typically commuted to life imprisonment. The court said that Zhao's corrupt activities involved sums that were 'extremely huge, and caused especially severe losses to state interests," according to CCTV. The broadcaster said Zhao admitted guilt, expressed remorse and actively tried to return his illicit gains—qualifying him for a degree of leniency. Zhao couldn't be reached for comment. Tsinghua Unigroup didn't respond to a request for comment. Tsinghua Unigroup was once hailed as one of China's chip-making champions, with subsidiaries that produced chips for computers and mobile devices as well as cloud-computing infrastructure. Zhao, who first joined the company in the 1990s, helped build Tsinghua Unigroup into a major player in semiconductors through an aggressive series of acquisitions—part of a government program to catch up with the West in chip-making capabilities. To fund its chip expansions, Tsinghua Unigroup relied heavily on government support. Under Zhao, the company also invested in other sectors such as finance, education and media. Zhao stepped down as chairman in 2022. In recent years, Tsinghua Unigroup has undergone a series of bankruptcy reorganizations after defaulting on billions of dollars in bonds. In 2022, the company completed a restructuring process that officially replaced its two former owners—China's elite Tsinghua University and a holding entity owned by Zhao—with a consortium led by two state-backed semiconductor venture-capital firms. The case against Zhao, first announced in early 2023, was among a series of corruption probes that snared leading figures in China's semiconductor industry at the time, following years of aggressive investments that sometimes failed or stalled. Write to Chun Han Wong at
South China Morning Post
09-04-2025
- South China Morning Post
China court hears men barging into home, attacking grandparents before snatching infant
A court in eastern China has heard an astonishing case in which three men forcibly entered a rural home to abduct an eight-month-old baby boy before selling him. Advertisement The case was brought before the Intermediate People's Court in Taian, Shandong province, on April 2, after the infant, now 18 years old, was reunited with his mother in 2023, as reported by Shangyou News. The baby was stolen on the night of December 3, 2006, when the three men, armed with pincers and sticks, scaled the wall of a courtyard in Houyu Village and broke the lock of the victim's home. They violently assaulted and restrained the boy's grandparents before seizing the baby. The following day, the trio allegedly sold the infant to a couple living in Jining, around 130 kilometres away, who have been raising him since. The men divided the illicit proceeds of 28,600 yuan (US$3,900) among themselves. The mother and her long-lost son, middle, faced the media after the court hearing. Photo: Baidu 'The grandfather was covered in blood from their brutal beating. They even trampled on his head, causing his eyes to bulge,' the boy's grandmother recalled tearfully in court.
