China's Supreme People's Court today confirmed and carried out the death sentence for a man responsible for the death of a woman after throwing a series of objects from the 33rd floor of a building in the north-eastern city of Changchun.
Zhou threw several heavy objects, including two five-liter water bottles and three unopened soda cans, from the window of an apartment on the 33rd floor of a residential building in June 2023 before throwing the brick that killed the victim, a 28-year-old woman, local newspaper The Paper reported.
A forensic analysis determined that the woman died from severe head trauma.
A police investigation revealed that Zhou, in his 20s, had arrived in the city days before the incident.
The man was unemployed and living in a temporary rental apartment. He told authorities that he felt "dissatisfied with life and hated society," which led him to plan and carry out the attacks.
The conviction of Zhou, who was not considered mentally ill, according to the court, was upheld in December 2023 by a local first instance court in Changchun, which found that the acts committed constituted a "grave danger" to public safety.
The defendant voluntarily surrendered to authorities, according to local media.
In addition to the death penalty, Zhou was ordered to pay more than 40,000 yuan (5,180 euros) in funeral expenses and other compensation to the victim's family.
The Chinese government does not provide official figures on the number of people sentenced to death, but in Amnesty International's 2019 report on capital punishment, the organization noted that "thousands of executions are believed to be carried out in China" every year.
