Advertisement

Chinese man jailed for exchange student killing

TT/The Local/dl
TT/The Local/dl - [email protected]
Chinese man jailed for exchange student killing

A 24-year-old Chinese exchange student has been sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Swedish court for the murder of a Chinese woman who was also studying at Örebro University in central Sweden.

Advertisement

According to the Örebro District Court's ruling, Junhui Pan should be expelled from Sweden following the completion of his prison term.

He has also been ordered to pay the family of the victim, 24-year-year-old Hao Chen, 576,400 kronor ($90,000) in compensation.

Chen was stabbed 25 times in a residential neighbourhood in Örebro on March 31st of this year while out walking with a friend.

She suffered fatal stab wounds to the chest, face, arms, legs and back, dying from internal bleeding at hospital several hours after the attack.

During the ensuing investigation, Pan expressed his regret for the attack, saying he would have committed suicide had he not been arrested so quickly, the local Nerikes Allehanda newspaper reported.

In explaining his motive for attacking the woman, Pan said he fancied Chen, but had failed to garner her attention.

The case of unrequited love left Pan depressed and suicidal as he contemplated whether or not he should kill Chen in order to end his own suffering.

The day of the attack, Pan took a large knife and walked to the Brickebacken neighbourhood and attacked Chen from behind.

A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation revealed no indication that Pan suffered from a mental illness, paving the way for a prison sentence for the killing.

Pan's defence attorney, Åke Söderström told Nerikes Allehanda that the sentence was expected.

"Sixteen years isn't surprising," he said.

"The decision about deportation following the sentence isn't unexpected either."

While he plans to discuss the verdict with his client, Söderström said there is nothing to indicate that they will appeal the ruling.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also