Ma Jiajue, a college student who allegedly killed four of his schoolmates in February, is convicted and sentenced to death Saturday in the Kunming Intermediate People's Court in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

With the youthfulness of the students involved, the murder case has attracted nationwide attention, with experts and ordinary people heatedly discussing why a college student could be so cruel to his schoolmates.

Ma's parents and the families of the four victims have all arrived at Kunming, the provincial capital, according to local media reports.

One victim's parents said they would give up demands for compensation. But parents of the other three victims have asked for 820,000 yuan (US$99,000).

The four victims were found in a dormitory in Yunnan University on February 23, all with deadly injuries consistent with a blunt metal object.

The court did not mete out the verdict Thursday.

Ma, a fourth-year student at Yunnan University, who is from a poor family in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was later listed as a chief suspect.

The Ministry of Public Security offered a 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) reward for information leading to his apprehension. Ma's photo was posted across the country.

He was finally captured on March 15 in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, after a tip-off from a local resident. Two days later Ma was transported by authorities back to Kunming.

The Kunming People's Procuratorate announced Ma would be prosecuted on murder charges on April 6.

It was reported that Ma confessed to the crime, but that has not been stated yet in court. All four victims were acquaintances of Ma's.

(China Daily April 24, 2004)