In a shocking development, Chinese actor Zhang Yeyang has become the first known celebrity to be executed in mainland China, according to reports from Ettoday, Chinapress, and HK01 on July 21. The 31-year-old was sentenced to death for the brutal murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend and for attempting to disguise the crime as a suicide.

A newly released report from the Intermediate People’s Court of Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, detailed the events of the murder, which took place in February 2022. Zhang allegedly lured the teenage girl, said to be from his village, into a forest near Xingping City under the pretense of celebrating his birthday. When she tried to end their relationship, the situation turned deadly.

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Zhang fatally stabbed her in the neck with a folding knife, severing her carotid artery and trachea. She died from mechanical asphyxia. Following the murder, Zhang attempted to stage the scene as a suicide, then returned home, changed clothes, disposed of the weapon in a reservoir, and checked into a hotel with the intent to kill himself. He was found in time by hotel staff and arrested by police.

Investigators revealed that Zhang exhibited paranoid tendencies and an intense need for control, contributing to his inability to accept the breakup. Court documents stated that Zhang had a history of manipulating his victims emotionally, including threatening suicide as a form of coercion — all of which factored into the decision to impose the death penalty.

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Although Zhang appealed the verdict, the appeal was denied. The court ultimately upheld the death sentence, citing the premeditated and cruel nature of the crime, as well as Zhang’s prior behavioral history.

However, controversy has emerged online as Zhang has not been included on the government’s blacklist of disgraced celebrities, and his film and TV appearances remain accessible. Netizens have criticized what they see as double standards in the entertainment industry, particularly in how lesser-known public figures are treated.

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