Notorious Chinese serial killer is sentenced to death while wearing a full-body protective suit to curb coronavirus

A notorious serial killer has been sentenced to death for murdering three people in the space of six days in southern China.

Zeng Chunliang, 45, donned a full-body protective suit and face mask when he received capital punishment during a trial in Jiangxi Province.

The criminal was reportedly arrested last August while trying to escape from a police hunt involving thousands of officers.

Zeng Chunliang is seen wearing a full-body protective suit and face mask while standing trial in the Intermediate People's Court of Yichun in Jiangxi Province on Monday

The court deemed Mr Zeng guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced the man to death

Mr Zeng was handed the death sentence by the Intermediate People's Court of Yichun in Jiangxi Province on Monday.

He killed an elderly couple and a village official during two revenge attacks while being hunted by police for suspected robbery, the court said.

According to a court statement, Mr Zeng, who had been jailed for theft, was released from prison on May 1 last year and returned to his hometown in the county of Le'an.

He thought of stealing again after believing that he had lost his livelihood due to the imprisonment.

On the night of July 21, Mr Zeng brought tools and broke into a family in the village of Houfang to steal. He fell asleep on the ground after failing to find any money.

He was spotted sleeping on the ground by a member of the family, Ms Xiong, the next morning. After being woken up, Mr Zeng pressed Ms Xiong on the floor, covered her mouth and threatened her with a screwdriver.

Ms Xiong's son arrived at the room after hearing the commotion. Mr Zeng repeatedly slashed Ms Xiong and her son with the screwdriver before fleeing.

Ms Xiong's son called the police afterwards.

According to the court, Mr Zeng killed three people within six days at a village in Le'an, southern China's Jiangxi Province. The file picture shows the village of Likeng in Jiangxi

Mask-donning people are pictured observing the trial at the local court in Jiangxi on Monday 

The court claimed that Mr Zeng thought of killing Ms Xiong and her family in early August after hearing that the police were looking for him.

He believed that the family had made it impossible for him to live peacefully by reporting the case to the police.

Mr Zeng sneaked into Ms Xiong's house on the night of August 7. He found a hammer in the storage before waiting in the kitchen for the victims to appear.

When Ms Xiong entered the kitchen the next morning, Mr Zeng smashed her head with the hammer and stabbed her with a knife multiple times.

Afterwards, the criminal rushed to the first floor and attacked Ms Xiong's husband, Mr Kang, who was asleep. He hit Mr Kang and another victim, Wu, in the head with the hammer.

Both Ms Xiong and Mr Kang died while Wu survived with serious wounds.

Mr Zeng escaped the crime scene after taking with him four watches, five silver bracelets, a silver necklace and some cash. 

China has seen a surge in coronavirus cases, particularly in Hebei which surrounds Beijing. Pictured, a health worker checks on test samples at a testing lab in Shijiazhuang on Saturday

Hebei officials put two cities, including its provincial capital Shijiazhuang, under lockdown last week in response to the new crisis. The above picture shows a medical staff in a protective suit taking a coronavirus swab from a child near a residential area in Shijiazhuang on January 10

Less than a week later, Mr Zeng killed an official of Houfang Village, Mr Gui. He believed that he had not been able to find a place to live because of the local official.

He knifed Mr Gui to death in a village office at around 8am on August 13 before being arrested in a nearby village during a large-scale police hunt three days later.

The Intermediate People's Court of Yichun deemed Mr Zeng guilty of intentional homicide and handed him a death penalty on January 11.

He was also convicted of robbery and theft. The former landed him 10 years imprisonment and 10,000 yuan (£1,140) fine while the latter resulted in a two-year jail sentence and 10,000 yuan (£1,140).

The court gave Mr Zeng an overall verdict of a death penalty in addition to 20,000 yuan (£2,280) of financial fine.

The defendant agreed on the ruling and decided not to appeal, the court said.