Two COVID-19 Quarantine Volunteers Murdered; Chinese Man Sentenced to Death

Moved to suburbs to attend party during nationwide lockdown in China last February
Killed by checkpoint officer with a weapon after being stopped at checkpoint

(Beijing AFP=Yonhap News) As new cases of COVID-19 recently emerged in Beijing, the capital of China, police guarded the entrance of the locked-down Xinfadi market on the 13th of last month. At this market, the coronavirus was detected on a cutting board used for slicing imported salmon.

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] A Chinese man who killed two officers controlling roads to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China has been sentenced to death.

According to major foreign media including AFP on the 9th, the Supreme People's Court of China announced that it executed Ma Mo (24), who stabbed and killed two volunteers at a checkpoint in Yunnan Province last February.

The court explained, "Although a Level 1 public health emergency response was declared in Yunnan Province, Ma did not comply with epidemic prevention and control policies and also disobeyed traffic control."

At the time of the incident, Chinese authorities had imposed lockdowns nationwide, but Ma drove with his group to attend a party in the outskirts of Yunnan Province. When they were stopped at the checkpoint, one member of the group attempted to remove the barricade without permission, leading to a dispute with the checkpoint officers. Ma then wielded a weapon and killed two officers.

Meanwhile, this execution is presumed to be the first related to COVID-19 crimes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.