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Copyright 2012 by Stanford University

WANG Zhicai,

An Intentional Homicide Case

Guiding Case No. 4

(Discussed and Passed by the Adjudication Committee of the Supreme People’s Court

Released on December 20, 2011)

CHINA GUIDING CASES PROJECT

English Guiding Case (EGC4)

January 9, 2012 Edition*

* The citation of this translation of the Guiding Case is: 《王志才故意杀人案》(WANG Zhicai, An

Intentional Homicide Case), CHINA GUIDING CASES PROJECT, English Guiding Case (EGC4), Jan. 9, 2012 Edition,

available at http://cgc.law.stanford.edu/guiding-cases/guiding-case-4.

This document was primarily prepared by Joseph Casey and Christine Qingyu Liu. The document was

finalized by Jennifer Ingram and Dr. Mei Gechlik. Minor editing, such as splitting long paragraphs, adding a few

words included in square brackets, and boldfacing the headings to correspond with those boldfaced in the original

Chinese version, was done to make the piece more comprehensible to readers. The following text, otherwise, is a

direct translation of the original text and reflects formatting of the Chinese document released by the Supreme

People’s Court.

The following Guiding Case was discussed and passed by the Adjudication Committee of the Supreme

People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China and was released on December 20, 2011, available at

http://old.chinacourt.org/public/detail.php?id=472161. See also 《最高人民法院关于发布第一批指导性案例的

通知》 (The Supreme People’s Court’s Notice Concerning the Release of the First Batch of Guiding Cases), Dec. 20,

2011, available at http://old.chinacourt.org/html/article/201112/21/472164.shtml.

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Copyright 2012 by Stanford University

2

Keywords

Criminal Intentional Homicide

Brought About by a Marital or Love Dispute Frankly Repent

Sentenced to Death with Suspension of Execution

Restrict Commutation of Sentence

Main Points of the Adjudication

In an intentional homicide case, brought about by a heated marital or love conflict, in

which the defendant commits the crime in a cruel fashion; the guilt of the defendant is of such a

nature that the death penalty should be imposed; the defendant, however, has mitigating factors

such as that he frankly repents and actively seeks to provide compensation; and, at the same

time, the victim’s family requests that stern punishment be meted out; the people’s court may,

based upon the nature of the case, the circumstances of the crime, the harm occasioned, the

subjective malice exhibited by the defendant, and the dangerousness of the defendant, sentence

the defendant to death with a two-year suspension of execution and also decide to restrict the

commutation of sentence in accordance with law, so as to effectively resolve social conflicts and

promote social harmony.

Related Legal Rule(s)

Article 50, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China

Basic Facts of the Case

The defendant, WANG Zhicai (王志才), and the victim, a certain Ms. ZHAO (赵某某)

(female, aged 26 at time of death), became romantically involved when they were schoolmates at

Shandong Vocational College of Science & Technology in Weifang Municipality, Shandong

Province. In 2005, after graduation, WANG Zhicai entered the workforce. Ms. ZHAO passed

the entrance examination to enroll in Qufu Normal University of Shandong Province, where she

pursued post–vocational-school undergraduate studies. In 2007, after Ms. ZHAO had graduated

and entered the workforce, WANG Zhicai and Ms. ZHAO discussed marriage, but because her

family disagreed, Ms. ZHAO suggested multiple times that they break up. Nevertheless, owing

to WANG Zhicai’s insistence, the two continued staying in touch.

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At noon on October 9, 2008, WANG Zhicai was once again discussing the marriage issue

in Ms. ZHAO’s dormitory. Because Ms. ZHAO explicitly expressed to him that the two of them

could never be together, WANG Zhicai felt despair. Enraged, WANG Zhicai became possessed

of the idea that he would kill Ms. ZHAO and then commit suicide. Forthwith, he took a sharp

single-edged knife located in Ms. ZHAO’s dormitory and repeatedly stabbed Ms. ZHAO in the

neck, chest, abdomen, and back, causing her to die of hemorrhagic shock. The next morning at

around 8:30, WANG Zhicai ingested some pesticide in a failed suicide attempt. He was

subsequently apprehended by the public security authorities. WANG Zhicai usually behaved

relatively well. After he was apprehended, he gave a true account of his crimes and, together

with his family, actively sought to provide compensation; however, he did not reach a

compensation agreement with the victim’s family.

Results of the Adjudication

On October 14, 2009, the Intermediate People’s Court of Weifang Municipality,

Shandong Province, by the (2009) Wei Xing Yi Chu Zi No. 35 Criminal Judgment, determined

that defendant WANG Zhicai was guilty of intentional homicide, and he was therefore sentenced

to death and deprived of his political rights for life. After the judgment was pronounced, WANG

Zhicai appealed.

On June 18, 2010, the Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province, by the (2010) Lu

Xing Si Zhong Zi No.2 Criminal Ruling, rejected the appeal, upheld the original judgment, and

reported to the Supreme People’s Court for authorization in accordance with law. Based on the

facts confirmed in the review procedure, the Supreme People’s Court, by the (2010) Xing San Fu

No. 22651920 Criminal Ruling, did not authorize the death penalty of defendant WANG Zhicai

and remanded the case to the Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province for retrial. The

Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province retried the case in accordance with law, and on

May 3, 2011, it rendered the (2010) Lu Xing Si Zhong Zi No. 2-1 Criminal Judgment. For

intentional homicide, defendant WANG Zhicai’s sentence was amended to death with a two-year

suspension of execution and deprivation of his political rights for life. At the same time, the

Court decided to restrict the commutation of his sentence.

Reasons for the Adjudication

After the retrial, the Higher People’s Court of Shandong Province opined: Defendant

WANG Zhicai’s acts constituted intentional homicide. These acts were extremely seriously

criminal, and the guilt of the defendant was of such a nature that the death penalty should be

imposed. Given that this case was brought about by a marital or love dispute, in which WANG

Zhicai failed in his marriage proposal and conceived of the idea to kill in a state of rage; that he

frankly repented and actively sought to provide compensation for the victim side’s economic

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losses after he was apprehended; and, moreover, that he usually behaved relatively well;

[consequently] WANG Zhicai was sentenced to the death penalty, which would not be

immediately administered. At the same time, considering that WANG Zhicai committed

intentional homicide in an extremely cruel fashion and that the victim’s family refused to forgive

him, requesting that stern punishment be meted out in accordance with law, the Court, in order to

effectively resolve social conflicts and in accordance with such provisions as Article 50,

Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, sentenced defendant WANG

Zhicai to death with a two-year suspension of execution and also decided to restrict the

commutation of his sentence.