CHINA: DIDI DRIVER EXECUTED FOR RAPING, MURDERING PASSENGER

Zhong Yuan, a Didi driver convicted of robbing, raping and murdering a passenger, was executed in east China's Zhejiang Province on 30 August 2019 afternoon, according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC).
After his death sentence was approved by the SPC, the Intermediate People's Court of Wenzhou City in Zhejiang announced and delivered the SPC decision to Zhong, said an SPC statement.
Zhong met his next of kin before the execution was carried out in the presence of procuratorate officers, the statement said.
In February, Zhong was convicted of robbing, raping and murdering a 19-year-old female passenger who reserved a ride in his car from Didi Chuxing, the country's largest ride-hailing platform, on Aug. 24, 2018. He was sentenced to death.
Zhong appealed, but the provincial higher people's court upheld the death sentence and submitted the death-sentence verdict to the SPC for review.
After re-examination, the SPC confirmed the criminal facts, the statement said.
Zhong had gambling debts on an online gambling website and prepared the knife and tape in advance, intending to rob a female passenger, according to the SPC.