Man sentenced to death for multiple murders

A court in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Tuesday handed down the death penalty to a man convicted of multiple murders.

Zhang Koukou stands trial at a court in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province on January 8, 2019. [Photo: VCG]

Zhang Koukou, from the village of Sanmen in Nanzheng District of Hanzhong, killed three members of a family -- Wang Zhengjun, his older brother and their father in 2018, according to the people's intermediate court of the city.

The court found that Zhang and the victims were neighbors. On Aug. 27, 1996, Zhang's mother died from intentional injuries caused by Wang, who was 17 years old then, due to a dispute.

Wang was found guilty of intentional injury by the People's Court of the Nanzheng County later that year.

On Feb. 15, 2018, the day before Chinese New Year, Zhang, who had held a grudge against Wang and his family because of his mother's death, sought revenge and stabbed the brothers to death on their way back from tomb-sweeping. He then rushed to Wang's home and killed their father before setting fire to a car belonging to Wang's brother and fleeing the scene.

Zhang surrendered himself to the police two days after the killing, according to the court.

The court held that Zhang committed the crime with malicious motives and posed "extremely great threat" to the society. Therefore, he should not be given lenient punishment although he turned himself in, the court said.

Zhang was also deprived of political rights for life.

Zhang said at the court that he would file an appeal.