High court orders rehearing in reduced death sentence for rape, murder of girl

The local high court in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been ordered to rehear a case in which the convicted rapist of a 10-year-old girl had his death sentence cut to a suspended death penalty, which roused huge public attention.

The top court on Wednesday ordered the Guangxi High People's Court to set up a new panel to rehear the case.

On Oct 4, 2018, a 10-year-old girl went missing in Lingshan county of Qinzhou in Guangxi, while she was on her way home after picking passion fruit to sell.

Two days later, Yang Guangyi confessed to raping and killing the girl, and was detained by local police. His confession also included information that led the police to the victim's body.

In July last year, Yang was sentenced to death by the Qinzhou Intermediate People's Court without lenient punishment, even though he turned himself in. Yang appealed to a higher court.

In March, the Guangxi High People's Court overturned the ruling and changed the death sentence to a death penalty with a two-year reprieve - a punishment that usually can be reduced to life in prison. It explained that Yang's act of going to the police, accompanied by his father, to confess the crime could be interpreted as a surrender, so he could be granted some leniency, but his prison term should not be commutated further.

The case, especially the reduced sentence, quickly triggered public attention and became one of the most discussed topics on Chinese social media platforms, as many people were angry about the cruelty of the crime.

The victim's mother was unhappy with the result and started appealing to higher courts.

In May, the Supreme People's Court issued a statement saying it had decided to review the case, adding it had consulted files and materials relating to Yang from the high court.