Photo: VCG

A woman has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison recently after a kitchen knife she threw across the back room of a cooked-food shop accidentally struck her ex-husband - who happened to be also working there - in the chest and killed him, Sichuan-based media outlet chengdu.cn reported.

The woman, surnamed Chen, was working in the shop's kitchen in May 2025 when she found a knife lying near a sink and thought it was in her way. She picked it up and randomly threw it toward a freezer negligently, according to a court ruling recently published on China Judgements Online website regarding the case.

The knife instead struck her ex-husband, surnamed Zhang, who was working in the same kitchen. The blade ruptured his heart, causing massive blood loss and his death, the report said. 

Chen and Zhang have a daughter together. They divorced in January 2025, but continued to live together, the ruling showed.

After the incident, Chen and others took Zhang to the emergency department. Police later summoned Chen while she was at the hospital.

Prosecutors said Chen truthfully confessed after being taken into custody and pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, which allowed for a lighter sentence under the law.

They also noted that Chen had no previous criminal record, that she and Zhang were living together and had no major conflicts before the incident, adding that she had helped to take Zhang to hospital afterward.

The Weishi County People's Court in Central China's Henan Province ruled that Chen had caused Zhang's death through negligence and found her guilty of negligent homicide.

Taking into account her confession, guilty plea, lack of a criminal record and actions after the incident, the court sentenced Chen to three years and two months in prison.

Global Times