Bio

Yang Ning was born in the year 1980. He grew up in China. He became a student at a private university. Yang had a typical upbringing, like many young people in China. He went to school and pursued education in a field of his interest.

At some point, Yang decided to study abroad. This decision led him to Japan, where he was one of many Chinese students who moved to the country for education. While in Japan, he lived in Fukuoka. It was here that he became involved with other students.

Murder Story

On June 20, 2003, Yang Ning and his accomplices, Wang Liang and Wei Wei, carried out a burglary in Fukuoka, Japan. They targeted the Matsumoto family, which included businessman Shinjiro Matsumoto, his wife Chika, and their two children, 11-year-old Kai and 8-year-old Hina. The trio broke into the family home with the intent to steal.

During the crime, Chika Matsumoto was drowned in the family bathtub to eliminate her as a witness. Kai was smothered with a pillow. The assailants took Hina hostage to force Shinjiro to reveal the numbers of his ATM cards. After he provided the numbers, Shinjiro was choked to death with his own tie, and Hina was also strangled.

After committing the murders, Yang, Wang, and Wei dumped the bodies into Hakata Bay. They handcuffed the bodies and weighted them with dumbbells, which they had purchased for this purpose. The burglary yielded approximately 37,000 yen (less than $400), which was the total amount in Shinjiro's bank account.

A few days later, Yang and Wang escaped to China, but Wei remained in Japan and eventually was arrested. Both Yang and Wang were captured by Chinese authorities and faced trial in China due to the lack of an extradition treaty between China and Japan. In January 2005, the Liaoyang Intermediate People's Court sentenced Yang to death and Wang to life imprisonment for their roles in the murders. Yang's execution was carried out on July 12, 2005, after his appeal was denied. Wei, on the other hand, was convicted in Japan and placed on death row.