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On Thursday, the High People's Court of Central China's Hunan Province rejected the appeal of Zhou Liren, who was found guilty in a high-profile intentional homicide case, and upheld the death penalty handed down by the court of first-instance. The ruling has been submitted to the Supreme People's Court for approval in accordance with the law.

The first-instance trial found that Zhou, a master's degree student at Xiangtan University, harbored resentment toward his roommates over trivial disputes. Leveraging his academic background, which involved knowledge of colchicine, Zhou purchased the toxic powder online in January 2024 and hid it in his dormitory wardrobe after downloading multiple documents on the substance.

Tensions between Zhou and his roommates, Zhang and another student also surnamed Zhou, escalated in March and April 2024, culminating in repeated quarrels. On April 3, after learning that the two had requested the university transfer him out of the dormitory, Zhou mixed colchicine powder into canned oatmeal shared by the roommates. Zhang consumed the oatmeal on April 7, 2024 and soon began vomiting and developed other symptoms, prompting a hospital visit. Despite emergency treatment, Zhang died on April 13, 2024 from multiple organ failure caused by acute colchicine poisoning. The other roommate avoided harm as he did not consume the oatmeal. Zhou was arrested on April 17, 2024.

The Xiangtan Intermediate People's Court concluded in its April 7, 2025 verdict that Zhou's conduct constituted intentional homicide. The court cited his calculated use of professional expertise to administer poison, his concealment of the facts during Zhang's rescue, and his attempts to hide and destroy key evidence afterward, describing his motives as despicable, his subjective malice as extremely grave, and the social impact as particularly adverse. Zhou was sentenced to death and deprived of political rights for life.

Zhou appealed the verdict, and on July 11, the Hunan High People's Court held a public hearing for the second-instance trial. The court determined that the facts established in the first-instance ruling were clear, the evidence was reliable and sufficient, the conviction was accurate, the sentence was appropriate, and the trial procedures were lawful. Zhou and his defense counsel's procedural rights were fully protected during the appeal proceedings, the court said.

Accordingly, the second-instance court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment, sending the case to the Supreme People's Court for final review of the death penalty.

Global Times