A Yunnan University student was sentenced to death yesterday for killing four of his classmates with a hammer.
Ma Jiajue, who was arrested last month after a nationwide hunt, was convicted of murder by the Kunming Intermediate People's Court in Yunnan province, Xinhua reported.
The court also ordered the deprivation of Ma's political rights for life.
Ma, 24, from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was accused of carrying out the killings between February 13 and 15.
The bodies were found in a dormitory in the university on February 23, all with injuries consistent with being hit by a blunt metal object.
The biochemistry major was later listed as chief suspect by the Ministry of Public Security, which offered a 200,000 yuan reward for anyone providing information leading to his capture.
He was caught on March 15 in Sanya, on Hainan Island, after being recognised by a man who was later given the award, and sent back to Yunnan two days later.