The children who fell from the 15th floor. Photo: Web

A man and his lover in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality were executed on Wednesday for intentional killing the man’s two toddlers, a case that once sparked widespread outcry, according to a court verdict. 

The man’s 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son dropped to death from the 15th floor on November 2, 2020. Police investigations found that the children’s father Zhang Bo and his girlfriend Ye Chengchen were suspicious of conspiring the murder of the two kids and the local prosecutors then filed a public prosecution against the duo for the charge of “intentional homicide.”

According to the indictment issued by the 5th branch of Chongqing People’s Procuratorate, Zhang and Ye met through the internet and got involved in a love affair. After Zhang got divorced, Ye repeatedly said that she would not be with Zhang if he had children.

Around February of 2020, Zhang and Ye conspired to kill Zhang’s two children. And the two conspired the murder for several times through talking face to face or through WeChat and finally decided to plot an accidental fall, which resulted in the children’s deaths. 

In the first trial for the case in July of 2021, the toddlers’ natural mother Chen Meilin waived civil damaged compensation in court but demanded a severe punishment to the murders. 

On December 28, 2021, Zhang and Ye were sentenced to death for the crime of intentional homicide and were deprived of their political rights for life by the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People’s Court. After that, Zhang and Ye submitted materials and filed appeals. 

During the second trial for the case on April 6, 2023, Zhang completely withdrew his previous confession at court, claiming that the children's fall from the building was purely an “accident.”

On May 11, 2023, the Chongqing Municipal High People’s Court released a statement after it issued the verdict of second trial, saying that the deeds of the two defendants severely challenged the bottom line of the law and morality, trample on the social conscience, the motive of the crime was particularly despicable, and the means of crime was extremely cruel. The case has posed extremely bad impact on the society, said the court. 

The Supreme People’s Court has recently confirmed the death penalty for Zhang and Ye, saying that the two defendants intentionally and illegally deprived others’ lives, and their actions constituted the crime of intentional homicide. 

During the crime, Zhang and Ye held generally equivalent roles and both played the main roles. Hence, they should be punished for all the crimes they participated in.

On January 31, 2024, the Chongqing No.5 Intermediate People’s Court executed the death penalty for Zhang and Ye following the execution order issued by the Supreme People’s Court. 

Global Times