Let court decide student’s murder case

A micro blog post published by Jiang Qiulian calls for death sentence given to the murder suspect who allegedly killed her daughter, Jiang Ge.

Editor’s note: Jiang Ge, a 24-year-old postgraduate student, was killed outside her apartment in Tokyo over a year ago after she was reportedly attacked by Chen Shifeng while trying to defend his former girlfriend Liu Xin from him. Jiang’s mother is seeking the death penalty for Chen, whose trial begins in Japan next month, and has accused Liu of being indifferent to the sacrifice of Jiang, sparking a heated online debate. Four experts share their views with China Daily’s Wu Zheyu on the issue. Excerpts follow:

Wait until all the facts are out in the open

According to the law of the People’s Republic of China, if a person suffers any physical injuries while defending or saving another person, the beneficiary should appropriately compensate that person. So the mother of the victim can file a lawsuit in court to seek compensation from Liu.

Also, the public needs to wait till the judges check all the evidence. The tragedy took place in Japan, and a Japanese court will hear the case next month, and also give its verdict.

But if Liu’s mother is not totally satisfied with the Japanese court’s judgment, she can seek “justice” in a Chinese court by filing a lawsuit. That would be in accordance with Chinese laws on civil proceedings in foreign countries.

Indulging in a debate without having all the facts and details of the case will only create more confusion among the people. All the stakeholders in the case should wait until all the facts are revealed.

Qiao Xinsheng, professor of law at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law