American man sentenced to death in China for fatally stabbing lover

China thought to be global leader in executions

An American man has been sentenced to death in China after allegedly stabbing a 21-year-old woman to death after she tried to end their relationship.

Shadeed Abdulmateen was sentenced on Thursday in the Intermediate People’s Court of Ningbo, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The city is located in the Zhejiang province in eastern China.

The woman was only identified by her last name – Chen. Abdulmateen is reported to have met Ms Chen in 2019 when they became a couple. When she tried to end the relationship, Abdulmateen is said to have arranged a meeting with her at a bus stop in Ningbo on the evening of 14 June 2021.

The news agency reported that he had brought a folding knife to use in the killing.

More than 20 people, both government officials and members of the public, attended the trial. The news agency reported that the court found the crime to be “especially heinous and resulted in serious consequences”.

Xinhua also said that Abdulmateen had been provided with a defence as well as translation services and consular visits, but didn’t report his hometown or how he ended up in the country.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in China said they were aware of the situation and were monitoring the process, but added that they couldn’t comment further for privacy reasons.

While precise numbers are a state secret in China, the country is thought to perform the highest number of executions in the world.

The Associated Press contributed to this report