Shanghai Daily | 上海日报 -- English Window to China News

A MAN was sentenced to death for strangling his lover to death and causing an explosion that injured three people in August 2007, Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court ruled, a local newspaper reported today.

The court also ordered the male defendant to pay the victim’s family more than 640,000 yuan (US$91,428) in compensation, according to Beijing News.

Wu had a love affair with a woman surnamed Ding, who died in the explosion at Sanhuan New Town in Fengtai District on August 19, 2007. Due to some undisclosed dispute, Wu strangled Ding to death the day they broke up, the report said.

Wu put Ding’s body on a bed and cut the gas tubes to make it look as if a gas leak occurred. He drove away in her car and buried her jewelry and cell phone in a flower pot, according to court documents.

Ding’s husband surnamed Meng returned from a business trip that day and smelled gas. He tried to turn off the switch in the kitchen, but sparks ignited the gas, which lead to a big explosion.

Meng and two others in the building were injured and more than 30 apartments were damaged in the blast, the court said.

Wu was caught by police two days later, according to the report.