Man Sentenced To Death For Murdering Judge Who Presided Over His Divorce Trial

A man in China has been sentenced to death for murdering a judge who presided over his divorce trial.

Wu Deren, a Heilongjiang province native, was sentenced to death Monday for stabbing to death Hao Jian after he was dissatisfied with his ruling.

Deren’s wife Guan Moumou initiated a divorce petition at a district level court on July 8, 2020. She claimed Deren often physically abused her, and demanded division of their properties, local news outlet China Daily reported.

Jian, the district court judge who presided over the trial, ordered the couple to be divorced in a verdict made on Sep. 17. He also ordered Deren could keep his 160,000-yuan ($24,643) apartment, but would have to pay 80,000 yuan ($12,321) to his estranged wife. Deren was ordered to pay her 200,000 yuan ($30,804) that they earned from pig breeding.

Unhappy with the property division, Deren appealed to a higher court and requested the property ownership certificate from Jian. The judge, however, told him it will be returned when the appeal was over.

On Nov. 13, a drunk Deren took a knife and went to the district court to find Jian. He stabbed 56-year-old Jian on his chest before the court staff could restrain him. Despite the efforts of medics, Jian bled to death.

The court on Monday convicted Deren on charges of intentional homicide. The court also ordered him to pay more than 650,000 yuan ($100,208) in compensation to the victim's family.

“He showed contempt for the judicial authority, took another’s life and seriously damaged public security, so we decided to give him capital punishment and ordered him to pay compensation,” the court said.

According to a report, the divorce rate in China has climbed to a high of 3.36 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants in 2019. This rate is much higher compared to that of other countries in the Asia pacific region where divorce rates are either stable or falling. The Chinese law allows divorce to couples who qualify the grounds of “irretrievable broken-down marriage” irrespective of the length of the period they were married. The circumstances that are considered include adultery, domestic violence, gambling or drug addiction.