A New Zealand court yesterday sentenced two Chinese students to
18 years and six months in prison for kidnapping and killing a
fellow student.
Cui Xiangxin and Li Zheng, both 22, were found guilty of
kidnapping Wan Biao, 19, in April 2006, and strangulating him to
death when they couldn't get a ransom of NZ$800,000 ($526,000) from
his parents.
The jury acquitted Wang Yuxi, another 22-year-old student, of
murder charges but found him guilty of kidnapping Wan, and handed
him down a three-year, nine-month sentence.
Also, the court accepted Wang's offer to pay NZ$25,000 ($19,300)
as compensation to Wan's family.
The jury had found the three guilty in October, and the
sentences were announced yesterday. The judge said the three had
fallen into "cyber sloth", spending much of their time playing
computer games and watching DVDs instead of studying.
The three convicts, who are from Zhejiang Province, will be deported to China
after serving their sentences.
Police probe found the victim died of strangulation. His body
was dismembered, stuffed in a black vinyl suitcase, along with
bloodstained towels and plastic garbage bags, two saws and a knife,
and dumped in Waitemata Harbor in Auckland on April 14, 2006.
Some Chinese students and educators believe the "shocking" case
raises concern over the situations Chinese students studying abroad
have to confront.
"I am shocked. I feel pity for the convicts' parents because
they must have made a great effort to send their sons overseas for
studies. They must have felt proud doing so but now they must be
desperate," said Zhang Yongguang, who went to study in Britain when
he was 18 and has lived there for six years.
Peking University's professor of sociology Xia Xueluan said some
Chinese students who go abroad face psychological pressure in the
beginning and need help from teachers and peers to overcome it.
"Some students have big difficulties with language, which may
add to their anxiety and even lead to abnormal behavior," Xia
said.
Chinese employers favor professionals who have studied abroad
and have an understanding of different cultures. This prompts many
Chinese families to try and send their children abroad for studies.
Ministry of Education data show the number of self-financed Chinese
students studying abroad has risen 10 times from 1998 to 121,000
last year.
According to Beijing Normal University professor Hong Chengwen,
parents should think twice before deciding to send their children
abroad.
(China Daily December 7, 2007)
