Man who killed judge over divorce sentenced to death

A man who killed a judge because he was dissatisfied with a divorce ruling was sentenced to death by a court in Heilongjiang province on Monday for intentional homicide.

The intermediate people's court in the provincial forestry area also ordered Wu Deren, a Heilongjiang native, to pay more than 650,000 yuan ($100,208) in compensation to the victim's family, according to a statement posted by the Heilongjiang High People's Court on its official WeChat account.

The statement said Wu's wife, surnamed Guan, initiated a divorce lawsuit at a district-level court in the province on July 8, saying Wu physically abused her often. She asked the court to divide their properties.

Hao Jian, the judge who heard the case in the district court, agreed to divorce the couple in a verdict made on Sept 17, ruling that Wu could have their apartment worth 160,000 yuan to live in, but he needed to pay 80,000 yuan to Guan.

Regarding their 100,000-yuan joint debt, Hao ordered each to assume half and also required Wu to give Guan 200,000 yuan that they earned from pig breeding.

Unhappy with the property division, Wu appealed to a higher court. He then asked Hao for the apartment ownership certificate, but Hao told him the certificate would only be returned after his appeal ended.

On Nov 13, Wu, who had been drinking, carried a knife with him when he went to the district court to find Hao. He stabbed Hao in the chest before being restrained by court staff.

Despite efforts by medical workers to save him, Hao, 56, bled to death.

The intermediate court said after trial that "Wu should be harshly punished, as who Wu killed was a person upholding justice and what Wu challenged is the authority of the law."

"His behavior has constituted the crime of intentional homicide in line with the Criminal Law," it added. "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."