Death Penalty News

Thai police have arrested a 26-year-old Hong Kong man after seizing about 350 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, known as "ice," worth an estimated 700 million baht (about HK$165 million, US$21.04 million) at a residential property in Bangkok's Min Buri district. The raid was carried out on Monday night by the Department of Special Investigation's Crime Suppression Bureau and narcotics police at a house on Rom Klao 11 alley in the Saen Saep sub-district. Officers found three large plastic barrels containing the drugs, along with plastic bags, cardboard boxes, electronic scales, blenders, vacuum sealers, suitcases, and plastic containers.

The Hubei High People's Court upheld the death sentence handed down to a ringleader of a mafia-style organization on Wednesday after rejecting his appeal in a second trial. Huang Dafa, a former village head and businessman in the province, was sentenced to death on 21 charges—including leading organized crimes, intentional injury, and fraud—by Huanggang Intermediate People's Court in Hubei in April 2026. The high court said that the original ruling was based on clear facts and sufficient evidence, with accurate conviction, appropriate sentencing, and lawful procedures. It therefore dismissed Huang's appeal and kept the original verdict.

Yang Youlin, the former executive deputy director of the administrative committee of the Nanjing Development Zone in East China's Jiangsu province, was sentenced to death on Monday by the Changzhou Intermediate People's Court for multiple crimes. Yang was convicted of accepting bribes totaling over 2.2 billion yuan ($324 million). He was also deprived of political rights for life, and all his personal assets were confiscated.

The case of Lin Qi's murder by poisoning highlights corporate rivalry and the high stakes of intellectual property rights. The execution of a former Chinese gaming executive and lawyer convicted of poisoning billionaire entrepreneur Lin Qi has reignited attention around one of China's most shocking corporate murder cases, linked to the global Netflix hit 3 Body Problem . Chinese authorities confirmed that Xu Yao was executed on 21 May 2026 after being found guilty of murdering Lin, founder of gaming company Yoozoo Games, through poisoning in late 2020. Lin died on Christmas Day that year at the age of 39 after reportedly suffering acute symptoms following the consumption of poisoned food.

2,707 executions worldwide in 2025, a record for over 40 years. Every year, Amnesty International releases a report detailing the use of the death penalty from the previous year. In this year’s report, there was a staggering rise in executions and death sentences, carried out by a handful of governments determined to rule by fear. Here, we provide the details on the main findings from the report, at a global and regional level.

In a stunning move amid a continued purge of its military, China on Thursday gave 2 former defense ministers suspended death sentences for corruption. Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu were both convicted of bribery and given the death penalty with a 2-year reprieve by the country’s military court, according to state media. The court announced that the 2 former generals’ sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after 2 years.  Wei, 72, served as defense minister from 2018 to 2023. Li, 68, succeeded Wei and held the position for less than 8 months in 2023. Both men were placed under investigation by the military’s anti-graft arm in 2023. 

A 14-year-old in Yunnan province has been convicted of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced to life in prison. The victim's family argue he deserves the death penalty. In late April, an unusual court trial in China's southwestern Yunnan province led to a landmark ruling, where a local court found a minor guilty of intentional homicide and rape, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.    At the time of the crime, the defendant was 14 years old. It marked the first time such a severe sentence was handed down to a minor in China.

Tian Yongming, who was initially sentenced for a series of violent crimes and then had his sentence changed to death early this year, has been executed in Yunnan province following approval from China's top court. The execution was carried out by the Intermediate People's Court in Yuxi, Yunnan, on Tuesday, with local prosecutors supervising the process. Before the execution, Tian was allowed to meet with his family members. The case dates back to September 1996, when Tian was sentenced to nine years in prison for the rape and attempted murder of his sister-in-law. After his release on July 15, 2002, he plotted revenge against the woman. On the night of Nov 13, 2002, he broke into her home armed with a knife.

Chan Thao Phoumy, a 62-year-old Frenchman born in Laos, was executed, “despite the efforts of the French authorities, including efforts to obtain a pardon on humanitarian grounds for our compatriot”, said a foreign ministry statement. Phoumy, who was born in Laos, had been sentenced to death in 2010 following a conviction for drug trafficking. Despite sustained diplomatic pressure and formal requests for clemency on humanitarian grounds, Chinese authorities proceeded with the capital sentence.  A massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation Chan Thao Phoumy was convicted for his involvement in a massive drug manufacturing and distribution operation that remains one of the largest drug-related cases in Chinese history. Phoumy and his accomplices were convicted of manufacturing approximately 8 tons of crystal methamphetamine between 1999 and 2003.

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday.  At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced.  Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

The condemned headed family syndicates that trapped Chinese abroad in massive scam centres BEIJING — In less than a week, China conducted a series of executions on a scale rarely seen in recent decades. In all, 16 core members of mafia-like crime syndicates were put to death for a range of crimes, from murder to fraud and human trafficking. While all the victims in the cases were Chinese nationals, many of the condemned were citizens of Myanmar, a largely Buddhist country not known for executing crime bosses.

TORONTO, Canada — China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian official told AFP Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg's lawyer Zhang Dongshuo, reached by AFP over the phone in Beijing on Saturday, confirmed the decision was announced Friday by China's highest court. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China–Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

China has executed another four members of a powerful Myanmar-based crime family that oversaw 41 pig butchering scam* compounds across Southeast Asia.   The executed individuals were members of the Bai family, a particularly powerful gang that ruled the Laukkai district and helped transform it into a hub for casinos, trafficking, scam compounds, and prostitution.  China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the executions after 21 members were charged with homicide, kidnapping, extortion, operating a fraudulent casino, organizing illegal border crossings, and forced prostitution. The court said the Bai family made over $4 billion across its enterprise and killed six Chinese citizens.

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.  The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta. 

A woman who abused and killed her stepdaughter was executed on Tuesday in Fujian province after the top court approved her death sentence, local authorities said.  Xu Jinhua was put to death by the Putian Intermediate People's Court, which had convicted her of intentional homicide and abuse and sentenced her to death.  Prosecutors supervised the execution in accordance with the law, and Xu was allowed to meet with close relatives beforehand, the court said. 

A court in Anqing, Anhui province, has sentenced a man to death for the murder of his former girlfriend, a 22-year-old university student, according to media reports.  The Anqing Intermediate People's Court delivered the first-instance verdict on Tuesday, finding the defendant, surnamed Lin, guilty of intentional homicide.  Court documents show that the victim, surnamed Li, met Lin online in 2018. The two entered a romantic relationship in late 2022 but broke up at the end of August 2024 following disputes.

Bai is the second senior figure from Huarong to be put to death for corruption following the execution of Lai Xiaomin in 2021 China has executed a former senior banker who was found guilty of taking more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$155 million) in bribes. Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of the asset management firm China Huarong International Holdings, was executed on Tuesday after the Supreme People’s Court approved the sentence, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chinese state media has reported that five people have been sentenced to death for their involvement in a violent criminal gang with fraud operations in Myanmar. Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar, staffed by foreigners — many of them Chinese — who often say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online. Five people have been sentenced to death in China for their involvement in a violent criminal gang with fraud operations in Myanmar's Kokang region, Chinese state media has reported.

Lu and His Friends Hatched the Plan After His Mother Received a Hefty Sum as Compensation Following a 2023 Road Accident A young man in China who teamed up with his friends to kill his mother in a fake road accident in a bid to gain her insurance has been sentenced to death.  The 23-year-old man, surnamed Lu, and his friend, identified as Yang, were both handed the death penalty over the intentional killing, as reported by the South China Morning Post .

On the occasion of the 23rd World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October 2025, Amnesty International joins the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and other abolitionist activists and organizations in denouncing the continued use of the death penalty and encouraging actions in support of its full abolition.   Trends recorded so far in 2025 indicate that executions have significantly increased in some countries, when compared to figures registered in recent years. Among these rises, some governments have shown renewed determination to use this cruel punishment as a tool of repression and control. This has frequently happened in the context of flawed narratives intended to create a false impression of security through a display of heavy-handed responses from the state, and to score political points. These narratives have also fostered a flagrant disregard for safeguards and restrictions under international human rights law and standards that have been established ...