A woman living in Shanghai was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for abusing and intentionally injuring her boyfriend's 3-year-old son, leading to the child's death, a local court announced on Tuesday.

The Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court found the defendant, Zhao Yudie, guilty of abuse and intentional injury. Zhao's political rights were also revoked for life.

The court found that since July 2024, when Zhao lived together with her boyfriend, surnamed Huang, and his son, Zhao frequently abused the child by beating his back, buttocks, and legs, and biting his legs, using his mischievous behavior as justification.

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On the evening of Aug 24, 2024, in a park in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, Zhao, frustrated with the child for running around, repeatedly slapped his head and face, hit him with a tree branch, and kicked him in other parts of his body. During the incident, Zhao also threw Huang from a riverbank slope, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground.

Later that evening, the boy fell unconscious at home and Zhao took him to the hospital for emergency treatment. Despite efforts to save him, the victim died on Sept 4, 2024, due to brain injuries caused by blunt force trauma, which led to central nervous system dysfunction.

Medical examinations also revealed multiple bruises on his back, face, and chest, and bite wounds on his left calf.

The court explained that Zhao's actions demonstrated an intention to cause harm, but not for the child to die. The court also dismissed online rumors that the boy had been stabbed with toothpicks, scavenged for food due to hunger, and had only small stones in his stomach at the time of his death, stating that such claims were unfounded.

Also, the court emphasized that there was no evidence to suggest that the boy's father was involved in, concealed, or condoned Zhao's abuse of his son.