A Chinese court has sentenced a jilted American university teacher to death for fatally stabbing a young Chinese woman after she tried to leave him when she found out he had lied about being single.

The Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court, in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, sentenced Shadeed Abdulmateen to death after finding him guilty of intentional homicide.

The sentence was officially made public at midday yesterday (Thursday, 21st April).

Abdulmateen, age not reported, taught at the Ningbo University of Technology, according to reports.

He was accused of inflicting multiple stab wounds to the neck and face of a 21-year-old Chinese woman with the surname Chen, who died of her injuries.

He claimed he committed the act due to a relationship dispute.

According to the investigation, Abdulmateen and Chen began their relationship in early 2019.

African-American Abdulmateen is said to have falsely told the young woman he was divorced and single.

From May 2021, when she realised he had lied, Chen is believed to have tried to end the relationship. However, Abdulmateen always refused and threatened her, according to the investigation.

The university teacher then arranged to meet Chen near a bus stop in Ningbo on the evening of 14th June last year.

He arrived carrying some clothes and a folding knife, which he used later that night to stab and cut her multiple times in the neck and face, according to the investigation.

Chen died at the scene of blood loss.

The Ningbo court said it notified the American Embassy and Consulates in China before the hearing and sentencing.

It is not clear when Abdulmateen will be put to death.