Death sentence upheld for roommate-poisoning postgrad in Shanghai

Lin Senhao (C) stands trial at the Shanghai Higher People's Court in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 8, 2015. The court on Thursday upheld the death sentence of Lin Senhao charged with poisoning his roommate on March 31, 2013. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

A court in east China's business hub Shanghai on Thursday upheld the death sentence of a postgraduate student charged with poisoning his roommate.

The Shanghai Higher People's Court rejected the appeal of Lin Senhao, a medical student at the prestigious Fudan University, after a second trial on Dec. 8.

The death penalty is subject to review by the Supreme People's Court.

Lin, allegedly used N-Nitrosodimethylamine, a deadly chemical compound taken from a university lab, to contaminate a water dispenser in his dormitory on March 31, 2013.

His roommate, Huang Yang, drank from the dispenser on April 1 and, despite doctors' efforts to save him, died of organ failure days later.

Lin was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court in February 2014 for intentional homicide.

He appealed, insisting that the poisoning was intended to be an "April fool's joke".

The second trial focused on Lin's intention behind contaminating the water and whether the poison was N-Nitrosodimethylamine.

The case drew wide attention and prompted questions about the moral education of Chinese youth.