Chinese couple executed for throwing two kids off 15 floor

A couple in China has been executed for throwing and killing their two toddlers off the 15th floor of a residential
tower in southwest China's Chongqing. 

In 2020, Zhang Bo murdered his children by pushing them from the 15th floor. Zhang Bo and his girlfriend Ye Chengchen were
sentenced to death in 2021, reported Daily Mirror. 

Zhang the father started an affair with Ye Chengchen, who was initially unaware that he was married and had children.

According to a statement from the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court, Ye urged Zhang to kill his two children, because
she "regarded them as obstacles" to their getting married and a "burden on their future life together".

Earlier Zhang claimed to be asleep when his two children, Zhang Ruixue (two years old) and Zhang Yangrui (one
year old), fell out of the window.

He alleged being awakened by people shouting downstairs upon discovering the bodies on a grass lawn. At the
time, he was captured on film banging his head on the wall and crying, which prosecutors later deemed a sham.

The little girl died instantly, and the baby boy succumbed to his injuries shortly after, Daily Mirror reported.
Zhang’s wife, Chen Meilin, told local media that despite them sharing custody with her taking care of the girl and
the father of the boy, Zhang asked to care for his daughter on the day he killed both children.

Chen said, "At that time, Zhang was on a video phone call with Ye. She slit her wrists and then Zhang got scared.

The phone was dropped, he picked up the two children, and threw them from the balcony."

Local media reported that Zhang admitted to plotting with Ye to kill the children, allowing them to start a new
family without any ties to his previous marriage.

In court, Chen claimed that her ex-husband cried and apologised for his actions, while his girlfriend Ye,
consistently denied the accusations.

Both were found guilty of conspiring "to kill his daughter and younger son by staging an accidental fall from the
15th floor of his apartment building", state-backed China Daily reported last year.

China keeps its death penalty data confidential, but according to Amnesty International, it is believed to be the
top executioner globally.

They say that, "The use of the death penalty remained shrouded in secrecy in several
countries, including China, North Korea, and Viet Nam — countries that are known to use the death penalty
extensively — meaning that the true global figure is far higher.

While the precise number of those killed in China is unknown, it is clear that the country remained the world’s
most prolific executioner, ahead of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the USA."

The method of execution remains unclear, but lethal injection is commonly used in China.