Former fugitive who killed 7 people gets death sentence

Lao Rongzhi, who killed seven people and committed other crimes before going on the run for about 20 years, was sentenced to death by a court in Jiangxi province on Thursday.

Born in 1974, Lao was convicted of intentional homicide, kidnapping and robbery and was sentenced by the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court.

The court also stripped her of her political rights and ordered that all her personal property be confiscated.

Lao said she would appeal the ruling.

According to the court, Lao and her ex-boyfriend Fa Ziying worked together while committing the crimes from 1996 to 1999. Lao sought targets at entertainment venues, and Fa was responsible for committing violence against them.

During that period, the two participated in robberies, kidnappings and killings in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, Changzhou, Jiangsu province and Hefei, Anhui province, the court said, adding their actions caused seven deaths.

Fa was caught in 1999 and sentenced to death. He was executed later that year.

Lao then became a fugitive and used false identities to evade capture until she was caught on Nov 28, 2019, in Fujian province.

When the court heard the case in December last year, Lao, who used to be a primary schoolteacher in Jiangxi, said Fa had forced her to participate in the crimes. She also apologized to the victims' families and offered to pay them compensation.

"Lao's behavior constituted the crime of intentional killing, robbery and kidnapping as she worked with Fa and intentionally harmed others' lives and properties," the prosecution said, adding that she should be identified as a main participant in the crimes.

"Although Lao confessed to the crimes, she couldn't be leniently punished because the circumstances of her offenses were extremely serious, her means were extremely cruel and her purpose was extremely vicious," the prosecution said. "She caused great personal danger and social harm, and the consequences of her crimes were extremely severe."

A number of people attended the ruling on Thursday, including national lawmakers, political advisers and some of Lao's relatives.