Chinese Lecturer Referred to Prosecution for Murder and Dismemberment of Student

A 31 year old Chinese university lecturer, Zheng Changsheng, was referred to the prosecution on Friday for the alleged murder and dismemberment of a 25 year old female graduate student. Police state that Zheng killed the victim, who was also a Chinese national, at his home in Gyeongsan on August 20. He is accused of mutilating her body and abandoning the remains in five cities, including Gyeongju and Gunpo.

Investigators believe the motive was Zheng's fear of losing his job after the victim threatened to disclose their romantic relationship to the university during an argument. To obstruct the investigation, Zheng allegedly filed a false missing person report and dressed as a woman while taking the victim's cell phone to a train station to mislead police.

Zheng underwent a psychopathy test and scored below the 25 out of 40 point threshold required for a psychopathy classification. A polygraph test reportedly found no indication that he was lying about his motive. While the case has been referred to prosecutors, the search for the victim's remaining body parts is ongoing. Additionally, police plan to investigate separate allegations that Zheng threatened other female students by suggesting they needed to remain in his good graces to graduate.