On April 7th, Zhou Liren, the culprit of the poisoning case in the dormitory of Xiangtan University, was sentenced to death for the crime of intentional homicide by the Xiangtan Intermediate People’s Court and deprived of political rights for life.
According to reports from media such as the “New Beijing News,” the defendant Zhou Liren studied for his undergraduate degree in Biotechnology at Jiangxi Agricultural University, and after working for two years, he took the postgraduate entrance examination and studied at the Marxism College of Xiangtan University. He and the victims Zhang and Zhou were all master’s students of Xiangtan University in the class of 2022.
In June 2023, Zhou Liren moved into the dormitory with Zhang and others. Due to various trivial matters, he had multiple disputes with Zhang and other roommates, harboring resentment in his heart. In January 2024, he purchased 1 gram of colchicine online and downloaded 96 related documents.
Subsequently, the conflicts between Zhou Liren and his roommates Zhang and Zhou escalated. On April 3, 2024, Zhang and two other roommates requested the school to transfer Zhou Liren out of the dormitory. Upon learning this, Zhou Liren immediately put 100 milligrams of colchicine powder into the canned oatmeal that Zhang and Zhou shared.
On April 7 of the same year, after consuming the oatmeal, Zhang showed symptoms like vomiting and went to the hospital for treatment. Six days later, despite rescue efforts, he passed away. Subsequent forensic examination revealed that Zhang died from acute colchicine poisoning leading to multiple organ system failure. Zhou Liren was arrested on April 17. Investigations showed that the undergraduate major studied by Zhou Liren involved knowledge related to colchicine.
The court determined that Zhou Liren, out of personal grievance, maliciously poisoned the canned oatmeal shared by two roommates, resulting in the death of Zhang (while Zhou was spared as he did not consume it), which constituted the crime of intentional homicide. Furthermore, after the incident, Zhou Liren attempted to conceal and destroy crucial evidence to cover up his crime and evade punishment. Given the despicable criminal motive and the extremely serious nature of the offense, he was sentenced to death.