American teacher sentenced to death in China for murdering a woman

American teacher is sentenced to death in China for fatally stabbing his 21-year-old girlfriend when she tried to break off their relationship

  • Shadeed Abdulmateen, originally from Los Angeles, was sentenced to death on Thursday for international homicide in China 
  • Abdulmateen, a teacher at Ningbo University of Technology, met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 after lying about being divorced
  • After ‘repeatedly’ trying to break up with him in May 2021, the pair agreed to meet at a bus stop in Ningbo around 8pm 
  • Roughly two hours later, he stabbed Chen in her neck and face and she was pronounced dead at the scene 
  • The court found Abdulmateen guilty of ‘premeditated revenge killing’ 
  • Locals were reportedly angry by how slow the police worked due to him being a foreigner and said it shouldn’t be a ‘protective umbrella’ to ‘escape punishment’
  • It is unclear if Abdulmateen will appear the death penalty. China is believed to carry out ‘thousands’ of executions a year 

An American teacher has been sentenced to death in China for fatally stabbing a 21-year-old woman who tried to break off their relationship.

Shadeed Abdulmateen, originally of Los Angeles, was sentenced to death on Thursday after a trial in the Intermediate People’s Court of Ningbo, a city in China’s eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, the Xinhua News Agency reported. He was convicted of international homicide. 

Abdulmateen, an English teacher at Ningbo University of Technology, met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 after lying about being divorced, according to Xinhua, and the pair entered into a romantic relationship. 

When she tried to ‘repeatedly’ break up in May 2021, he reportedly verbally intimidated her, a court statement said.

Abdulmateen arranged to meet her at a bus stop around 8pm on June 14, 2021, in Ningbo. Almost two hours later, he stabbed her to death in the neck and face with a folding knife he had brought with the intention of killing her, Xinhua said. 

Chen reportedly suffered from a hemorrhage and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Shadeed Abdulmateen, originally of Los Angeles, was sentenced to death on Thursday for international homicide in China

It is unclear if he plans to appeal the decision. Abdulmateen (pictured in court on Thursday) met the victim, identified only by her surname, Chen, in 2019 after lying about being divorced After ‘repeatedly’ trying to break up with him in May 2021, the pair agreed to meet at a bus stop in Ningbo around 8pm, where he could stab her to death roughly two hours later 

The court (pictured) found Abdulmateen guilty of ‘premeditated revenge killing’

The court found Abdulmateen guilty of ‘premeditated revenge killing.’

‘[The] stabbing and cutting Chen’s face and neck several times, resulting in Chen’s death, was motivated by vile motives, resolute intent and cruel means, and the circumstances of the crime were particularly bad and the consequences particularly serious, and should be punished according to law,’ the court said, according to CNN.

The murder reportedly caused outraged among locals, who said the police were slow to respond to the crime because Abdulmateen was a foreigner, according to the South China Morning Post. 

The former Editor-in-Chief of the Global Times, Hu Xijin, said foreigners’ identity shouldn’t be used as a ‘protective umbrella for them to escape punishment,’ the South China Morning Post reported. 

Abdulmateen was an English teacher at Ningbo University of Technology 

He posted two YouTube videos in 2013, one showing a lesson plan for teaching the English words for different weather conditions 

Chinese law states that foreigners will be convicted of their crimes under the country’s law and faces the same punishments as their Chinese counterparts, except those with diplomatic privileges or exemptions. 

It was said Abdulmateen had been provided with a defense, translation services, and consular visits at his trial. 

The trial was attended by more than 20 people, including government officials and members of the public.

A US Embassy spokesperson said it was aware of the sentence and monitoring the situation, but for privacy reasons, could not offer further comment.

China is believed to lead the world in executions, but exact figures are considered a state secret. Around 500 executions took place in 2020 among 18 nations, however, it is believed the number would go up ‘thousands’ if China’s numbers were added, according to the South China Morning Post. 

He taught at the Ningbo University of Technology (pictured) 

However, the death sentences handed to foreigners in the country mostly involved drug-related crimes, the South China Morning Post said. 

In August, Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg’s appeal was denied and he was sentenced to death for smuggling methamphetamine in 2018. Canada criticized the brutal sentence, calling it ‘arbitrary.’

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