Beijing - A high-profile murder came to a close on Tuesday morning when Yao Jiaxin, a university student who stabbed a young mother to death to cover up a hit-and-run, was executed in Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Tuesday.

On Oct 20 last year, Yao, a 21-year-old student at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, was driving a Chevrolet Cruze when he ran into Zhang Miao, a 26-year-old waitress riding a bicycle home. Fearing that Zhang might remember his license plate number and report him to the police, Yao stabbed her eight times with a knife.

The Xi'an Intermediate People's Court handed him a death sentence for intentional killing on April 22, and his appeal of the sentence was rejected by the Shaanxi Provincial Higher People's Court on May 20.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC), which reviews every death sentence before execution, approved the capital punishment.

"Yao, after running into the victim, stabbed the victim's chest, stomach and back several times until she died. His motive was extremely despicable, his actions extremely cruel and the consequences extremely severe," said a statement by the SPC.

Although Yao surrendered to police four days after the murder, it was not enough to change the severity of his crime or the sentence, said the SPC.

The news of the execution, like the case itself since it was first made public, drew huge attention, and by Tuesday afternoon it had become a top topic on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, with more than a million micro blog posts mentioning the execution.

Tens of thousands of people have voiced their thoughts on the case, many expressing anger over Yao's atrocity and asking for justice.

After the second trial, an online survey by sina.com.cn with about 40,000 respondents showed that about 67 percent support the death penalty while 13 percent think "Yao should be given a second chance".

Yao Qingwei, Yao's father, opened a micro blog after the second trial, posting an apology to Zhang's family and "all Chinese people" for what Yao had done.

Yao Qingwei said that Yao Jiaxin had his last wish, hoping his parents will go and visit Zhang's parents and her two-year-old son.

"Yao Jiaxin committed an unforgivable crime; his mother and I are filled with anger as well as pain. We sincerely apologize to Zhang's family for the hurt our son had caused," according to Yao Qingwei's micro blog.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/08/2011 page3)