In a long-delayed case, two kung fu coaches in China were sentenced to death on Monday for their involvement in a poisoning incident dating back to 1997, resulting in the death of seven children. Fu Zejie and Zhu Zulin had planted rat poison in the food at a martial arts school in Anhui Province due to a business dispute with the school’s boss. The two evaded prosecution for nearly 26 years before being arrested last year.
The Intermediate People’s Court in Ma’anshan City pronounced the death sentences for both defendants, stating that they were found guilty of the crime of poisoning. According to the court’s statement, in 1994, Zhu and another man named Peng engaged in a dispute while running competing martial arts schools. Fu joined Peng’s facility as a coach in 1996 but became dissatisfied with Peng over trivial matters.
The two defendants, Fu and Zhu, conspired to retaliate against Peng by introducing two packets of rat poison into the food at Peng’s school on June 29, 1997. The following morning, over 130 people at the school suffered vomiting and convulsions after consuming their breakfast, resulting in the death of seven students due to the poison.
Although the authorities identified the two culprits as suspects at the time, they managed to evade arrest until May 2023. Fu was apprehended in Fujian Province on the eastern coast, while Zhu was captured in southwestern Guizhou Province.