Chinese man, 36, executed for murdering three neighbours to avenge his mother's killing

A man in northwest China was executed Wednesday for killing three neighbours to avenge his mother's death more than two decades earlier.

The Supreme People's Court in Shaanxi province announced that it implemented the death penalty on Zhang Koukou, 36, for intentional homicide against three men - Wang Zixin, 70, and his sons, Wang Zhengjun, 40, and Wang Xiaojun, 46, in a village in Hanzhong.

Authorities said Zhang committed the murders after witnessing Wang Zhengjun killing his mother with a wooden stick during an argument in 1996. Zhang was 13 years old at the time.

Zhang Koukou (pictured), 36, was sentenced to death for stabbing his neighbours Wang Zixin, 70, and his sons, Wang Zhengjun, 40, and Wang Xiaojun, 46, to death in a village in Shaanxi. Above, Zhang pictured in court in January this year when he was sentenced 

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Zhang was allowed to meet his family members before the execution, which was also supervised by prosecutors. 

The court statement detailed the two families' longstanding enmity.

That year, a dispute between Zhang's mother and one of the brothers, then 17-year-old Wang Zhengjun, resulted in her succumbing to a fatal injury. 

The woman had hit Wang on the face with a piece of metal during the flight, prompting him to deliver the fatal blow. 

Taking into consideration Wang's youth and the behaviour of Zhang's mother during the quarrel, the court at the time fined Wang 9,639 yuan (£1,129) and sentenced him to seven years in prison for intentionally injuring another person. 

'If my mother wasn't killed, my life wouldn't be affected this way,' Zhang previously said

Over the following 22 years, the Supreme Court says, Zhang continued to harbour resentment for her death. He struggled with his job, lifestyle and mental health.

There were no further conflicts between the two households - until last year.

On February 15 2018, Zhang learned that Wang would be returning to their village to celebrate the Spring Festival. 

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, after Wang and his brother had just come back from offering sacrifices to their ancestors, Zhang approached and stabbed them to death. 

Then, he went to the home of Wang Zixin, the father, and fatally stabbed him as well before setting the family's car on fire.

Zhang sought revenge on the Wangs as they were on their way home from tomb-sweeping on February 15. The two families lived in a village (pictured) in  Nanzheng district, Hanzhong city

Zhang fled the scene and surrendered himself to police two days later.

The court said that Zhang had meticulously plotted the killings, preparing his weapons and observing his victims' movements as he waited for the best time to strike. 

At an initial trial in January, the state-run China Daily reported, Zhang admitted that he had been haunted all these years by the thought of avenging his mother's death.

'If my mother wasn't killed, my life wouldn't be affected this way,' Zhang told the court then. 'This is the result of the Wangs' actions - not because I was frustrated with society or my job.' 

His appeal, which included a mental health assessment, was rejected at the second trial in April.

Zhang's capital punishment has been furiously debated online. Some commenters on the Twitter-like Weibo platform praised him for his filial piety and described him as the embodiment of a 'real man.'

'I understand his anger, but killing people is still wrong,' one person said.

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