Chinese student gets suspended death sentence for murdering roommate in dispute over snoring

Chinese man gets death for killing snoring student

BEIJING — A Chinese university student who stabbed his sleeping roommate to death because he snored too much was given a suspended death sentence, state media reported Friday.

The court in Changchun, capital of northeast Jilin province, handed down the sentence to 24-year-old Guo Liwei who confessed to stabbing his roommate to death in November, the official Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

A suspended death sentence is usually changed to life in prison after two years, if the person shows good behavior.

Guo confessed to stabbing Zhao Yan, 23, in the chest and back in their room at Jilin Agricultural University, Xinhua said.

Guo previously complained to Zhao about his snoring and posted video of him snoring on a university Web site, which created more tension between the two, the report said.

Guo was also ordered to pay the victim’s family 270,000 yuan ($40,000) by the Changchun Intermediate People’s Court. Calls to the court rang unanswered Friday.

Violent crime has been on the rise in China, especially as the country’s rapid economic development has created a growing rich-poor gap.