A Chinese court has carried out the execution of Xu Jinhua, convicted of the brutal torture and murder of her 12-year-old stepdaughter, following final approval from China’s Supreme People’s Court. The Putian Intermediate People’s Court in Fujian province administered the death penalty on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, concluding a case that had shocked the nation and triggered widespread public outrage.
Court documents reveal that in December 2023, Xu subjected the child to 17 days of continuous torture while confining her in a bathroom, ultimately resulting in the girl’s death. The case came to light when local police detained both Xu and the victim’s biological father, Liu Jiang, who was found complicit in the abuse through his failure to intervene.
Initial sentencing in April 2024 saw Xu receive the death penalty for intentional homicide and abuse charges, while Liu received a five-and-a-half-year prison term for intentional injury and abuse. Both defendants appealed the verdicts, leading to a judicial review by the Fujian High People’s Court.
The higher court upheld Xu’s death sentence while simultaneously determining that Liu’s punishment was “manifestly too light” given his role as legal guardian. This prompted a supervisory review and retrial that resulted in Liu’s sentence being substantially increased to 13 years and six months imprisonment in December 2025.
China’s legal system requires that all death sentences issued by lower courts undergo mandatory review and approval by the Supreme People’s Court before execution. The court confirmed that Xu was permitted a final meeting with close relatives prior to the execution, which was conducted under prosecutorial supervision in accordance with Chinese law.