Zhao Zhiyong, 49, a very successful businessman has paid with his life after a court convicted him for sexually assaulting 25 underage female students in China.
The Chinese millionaire was executed after being found guilty of raping 25 underage girls on 32 occasions in the space of one and a half years, including 14 girls who were not yet 14 years old.
He was sentenced to death for raping last October before being executed yesterday, according to the Kaifeng Intermediate People’s Court in central China’s Henan Province after receiving an execution order from the Supreme Court.
In an online statement, the court said Zhao had colluded with an accomplice, named Li Na, who was responsible for scouting for victims.
Zhao had sent Li to look for ‘young female pupils’ from middle schools in the county of Weishi so that he could have sex with them.
Between May 2015 and January 2017, Li brought underage girls to hotels or Zhao’s home for him to have sexual intercourse with by force.
Li, together with eight accomplices, forced the victims to sleep with Zhao by beating them, intimidating them and taking pictures of their privates as threats.
Zhao’s accomplice Li was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
Zhao, who was said to be an influential businessman in Kaifeng, owned a large flour factory and was the deputy head of the Kaifeng Chamber of Commerce, according to Chinese news outlet The Paper, citing a court notice.
He was also said to be a representative of the Kaifeng People’s Congress.