Yang Ning

Case record: Yang Ning

Other details

Yang Ning was a Chinese man sentenced to death over the killing of a family of four in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 2003. He was a former private university student. After the murders, he fled to China, where he was arrested.

Background

The murders involved businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto, his wife Chika Matsumoto, and their two children aged 11 and 8, Kai and Hina. The family was killed in a burglary that netted him and his accomplice less than ¥40,000.

The offence

On June 20, 2003, Shinjiro Matsumoto, who was 41 and described as a clothing dealer, his wife Chika, their 11-year-old son Kai, and their eight-year-old daughter Hina were killed in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

Three Chinese students, Wang, Yang, and another accomplice Wei Wei, broke into Matsumoto’s house to steal money. Chika was drowned in the family bathtub, and Kai was smothered with a pillow. Hina was taken as a hostage to force Shinjiro Matsumoto to give the numbers of his ATM (automated teller machine) cards. After Shinjiro Matsumoto gave the card numbers, he was choked to death with his own tie and then Hina was strangled. The bodies were dumped into nearby Hakata Bay, handcuffed and weighted with dumbbells that the trio had purchased in advance for the crime.

The killings netted just 37,000 yen in cash.

Investigation

Wang gave police a full account of the events.

Both men were formally taken into custody by Chinese authorities in August 2003 and indicted in July 2004. Yang and Wang were arrested in China, and they were tried under the Chinese system. The formal trial stage concluding last October was described as concluding after the two nations had no bilateral extradition treaty.

Arrest

Wang and Yang fled to China after the murders and were later arrested by Chinese authorities. It was described that Wang was later suspected because he “spend[ing] extravagantly” with the stolen money, was taken in for questioning, and soon “voluntarily” confessed to the murders, providing information that led to Yang’s apprehension.

Trial

The first and only trial hearing was held in October, when the accused duo admitted their guilt.

In front of the relatives of the victims who had traveled to China, Wang knelt down in the courtroom and tearfully apologized for the killings, which he described in graphic detail.

During the trial, Chinese public prosecutors acknowledged that the murders had an extremely negative impact on the Chinese community in Japan. The prosecutors expressed concern about harm caused by the trio to “the friendship between our two nations” and stated: “They damaged the image of other students studying overseas in Japan. Their methods were wicked and cruel, and brought grave consequences.”

Normally Chinese criminal trials were not public, but in a highly unusual move Japanese media were allowed to cover the legal proceedings, with Japanese translations provided for key sections of the trial. The same arrangements were extended to the announcement of the verdict.

In its summing up, the prosecutors requested that “severe punishments” be imposed on the accused pair.

Yang said he intended to appeal his death sentence to the Higher People’s Court, while Wang indicated he would not challenge his life term. The appeal process was described as operating in a two-tier appellate system in which uncontested rulings were executed by the lower court once a higher court had authorized its decision. A final verdict for Yang was described as expected within six months, and it was described that death sentences were normally carried out soon after final approval, with the standard method of execution being a bullet to the back of the head.

Sentencing

A lower court in China sentenced Yang to death in January 2005. In the January 24 ruling, the court also sentenced another man, Wang Liang, 23, to life imprisonment in connection with the murders. Wang’s life imprisonment was described as being because he turned himself in and cooperated with investigators. Neither the Chinese prosecutors nor Wang appealed that ruling.

The Intermediate People’s Court in Liaoyang in Liaoning province (described as northeastern Liaoning) sentenced Yang to death in January for the murder of clothing dealer Shinjiro Matsumoto and his family. It was also described that in a Jan. 24 ruling the court sentenced Wang Liang to life imprisonment.

A court later rejected Yang’s appeal at an undisclosed date. The Liaoning High People’s Court was described as contacting the Japanese consulate in Shenyang and said the death sentence against Yang, 25, was carried out on July 12.

Appeals

The Liaoning High People’s Court denied Yang’s appeal against an earlier district court ruling that had sentenced him to death for the crime. Details on when the appeal was denied were not released by the high court.

Outcome

China executed Yang Ning. The execution date was stated as July 12, 2005.

Wang Liang was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the murders and was described as not having appealed the life sentence. Wei Wei was arrested in Japan and was described as currently on death row.

Timeline

• June 20, 2003 — Shinjiro Matsumoto, his wife Chika, and their children Kai (11) and Hina (8) were killed in Fukuoka.
• August 2003 — Wang and Yang were formally taken into custody by Chinese authorities.
• January 2005 — A lower court sentenced Yang Ning to death.
• January 24 (2005) — The court sentenced Wang Liang, 23, to life imprisonment in connection with the murders.
• July 2004 — Wang and Yang were indicted.
• October (year not specified) — The first and only trial hearing took place, and the court stage was described as concluding last October.
• July 12, 2005 — Yang Ning was executed in China.
• July 25, 2005 — The Japanese Consulate in Shenyang was informed by the Chinese government that Yang Ning was executed on July 12.