Student diced up her affluent lover's body on video: report

A 19-year-old student has been arrested for the suspected killing and dismembering of her lover in collusion with her boyfriend and a graduate from her university, according to a mainland newspaper.

Zhang Chao, of Yunnan province, was videotaped as she chopped her victim's body into hundreds of pieces 'to give vent to her hatred', the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

The victim, Mu Hongzhang, 39, a married project manager at a civil engineering company, was murdered last month in his villa in Lijiang. Zhang, a student at Yunnan University, came from a poor family in Beijing, and met Mu and her boyfriend while working as a nightclub hostess in Lijiang in May.

The report said Mu had paid her 30,000 yuan a month to be his mistress. Zhang shared the money with her boyfriend, a sex worker in his 20s at the same nightclub. Zhang apparently murdered Mu after he had physically abused her and because she envied his wealth.

'Sources said Mu had flaunted a bank account with more than 3 million yuan to the girl,' it said.

The suspects reportedly forced a password from Mu. Zhang is alleged to have instigated the murder, while her boyfriend and the unnamed graduate wanted to release him.