Islamabad court sentences Chinese national to death for killing compatriot

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad sessions court on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese national to death for murdering his fellow citizen in Islamabad in 2024.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict in the murder case of Chinese national Xue Xinliang, who was shot dead in Islamabad’s Sector G-13/3 in August 2024.

The court sentenced Yan Guoxuan to death under the relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and ordered him to pay Rs1 million in compensation to the victim’s heirs.

The court said that the convict would have to serve an additional six months in prison if he failed to pay the compensation.

The court also sentenced Yan to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs100,000 under the provision relating to house trespass.

However, the court acquitted him of the charge under Section 354 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which relates to assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty.

The murder case had been registered at the Sumbal Police Station in Islamabad in 2024. Police had arrested Yan shortly after the incident and launched an investigation into the shooting.

According to police at the time, Safe City surveillance alerted authorities to gunfire at a flat where Chinese nationals were residing.

Police said preliminary investigation suggested that the shooting was linked to a dispute between the two men.

An eyewitness, identified by police as Yao Di, had told investigators that she and Xue were residing in the upper portion of a flat and heard the sound of breaking glass and gunfire. She said they went downstairs and saw Yan, who lived in the lower portion, holding a gun.

The witness told police that Yan opened fire on Xue, who fell on the stairs, after which she took him to hospital in a private vehicle.

Xue had sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was in critical condition when police arrested the suspect.

The court’s latest verdict brings the trial to a conclusion with the death sentence for Yan, subject to the applicable legal process and any appeal.