Pu Liansheng and Wang Mingcheng Intentional Homicide Case

In 1986, Wang Mingcheng's mother, Xia Suwen, was hospitalized in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, with end-stage liver cirrhosis. Unable to bear her suffering, Wang repeatedly requested that the attending physician, Pu Liansheng, administer euthanasia. Pu ultimately prescribed 100 mg of chlorpromazine, with additional injections given later; Xia died in the early morning of June 29. In September 1986, both were arrested on suspicion of intentional homicide. The Hanzhong Municipal People's Court publicly tried the case in March 1990 and, following a Supreme People's Court批复 stating that euthanasia required legislation and that the specific circumstances should not be treated as a crime, acquitted both defendants on April 6, 1991. The prosecution appealed, and the Hanzhong Prefecture Intermediate People's Court upheld the acquittal on March 25, 1992.

First instance: not guilty; prosecution appealed; second instance: appeal dismissed, acquittal upheld. The court held that the acts were illegal but did not constitute a crime.

Whether the defendants' act of euthanasia constituted intentional homicide; whether the causal link between the chlorpromazine injection and death was established; whether the patient's own consent was a prerequisite, given that the request came from family members rather than the patient herself.

This case sparked a nationwide debate on euthanasia, popularizing the concept among the Chinese public. It highlighted the legal vacuum regarding euthanasia in China and prompted extensive discussion across medical, legal, and ethical circles. The case remains a landmark reference in discussions of euthanasia legislation and end-of-life rights in China.