The Jiangxi Provincial High People's Court pronounced a second-instance judgment on the appeal case of intentional homicide, robbery, and kidnapping by Lao Rongzhi: the appeal was rejected and the original judgment was upheld. Lao Rongzhi and her boyfriend Fa Ziying jointly committed four robberies, kidnappings, and homicides in four cities, resulting in the death of seven people, and were sentenced to death, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property. This verdict has aroused widespread concern and discussion in the society, and has also shocked and saddened Lo Rongzhi's former friends.
The reporter interviewed Lao Rongzhi's former friend Zhang (pseudonym), who was a colleague of Jiujiang Petrochemical Company Primary School and was also Lao Rongzhi's classmate and roommate. Zhang said that she and Lao Rongzhi have a good relationship, often eating, shopping, and chatting together, and her impression of Lao Rongzhi is that of a gentle, kind, and optimistic girl, and never thought that she would embark on the road of crime.
Zhang said that the last time she saw Lao Rongzhi was in July 1996, when Lao Rongzhi took a month's leave, saying that she was going to Nanchang to visit her boyfriend Fa Ziying, and never returned. Zhang said that she didn't know what kind of person Fa Ziying was at that time, but she had heard Lao Rongzhi say that he was a businessman, very rich, and very good to her. Zhang said that she once advised Lao Rongzhi not to give up her work and life easily, but Lao Rongzhi said that she loved Fa Ziying and wanted to be with him.
Zhang said that she later learned from ** that Fa Ziying was a habitual offender who had fled because of fighting and hurting people, and after falling in love with Lao Rongzhi, the two committed a series of violent crimes together, and successively killed seven innocent people in Nanchang, Wenzhou, Changzhou, and Hefei, including a mother and daughter and a three-year-old child. Zhang said that when she heard the news, she was very shocked and sad, she couldn't believe that Lao Rongzhi would do such a thing, and she felt that Lao Rongzhi must have been deceived and coerced by Fa Ziying.
Zhang said that she had tried to contact Lao Rongzhi, but Lao Rongzhi's ** had not been able to get through, and she had no other *** from Lao Rongzhi, she said that she had been paying attention to Lao Rongzhi's whereabouts, hoping that she could turn back as soon as possible, surrender herself, and strive for leniency. She said that she had also written a letter to Lao Rongzhi and sent it to her hometown, but she did not know whether she had received it. She said that she told Lo Rongzhi in the letter that she was still her good friend, that she was willing to help her, and that she hoped that Lo Rongzhi would recognize the reality, get rid of Fa Ziying's control, and be herself again.
Zhang said that she never gave up her expectations for Lao Rongzhi until November 28, 2019, when she saw on the news that Lao Rongzhi was arrested in Xiamen. Zhang said that when she saw Lao Rongzhi's **, she felt very heartbroken, she found that Lao Rongzhi had become unrecognizable, her eyes were full of fear and despair, and her body had lost a lot of weight. Zhang said that she wanted to call Lao Rongzhi, but she didn't know Lao Rongzhi's ** number, and she didn't know if Lao Rongzhi was willing to answer her **. She said that she could only learn about Lao Rongzhi's situation through **, and she hoped that Lao Rongzhi could sincerely repent and strive for forgiveness from the law.
Zhang said that she had not gone to see Lao Rongzhi's trial, she felt that she did not have the courage, she was afraid of seeing Lao Rongzhi's crimes and incriminating evidence, she was afraid of seeing Lao Rongzhi's tragic end, and she was afraid that she would not be able to withstand such a blow. She said that she only read some reports of the trial on the Internet, and she found that Lao Rongzhi's attitude in the trial was not sincere, and she also tried to exonerate herself, she still did not admit her guilt, and she also put the responsibility on Fa Ziying. Zhang said that she was very disappointed in Lao Rongzhi, she felt that Lao Rongzhi was no longer the Lao Rongzhi she knew, she felt that Lao Rongzhi had completely degenerated, and she felt that Lao Rongzhi had no possibility of redemption.