Sentence to be announced in roommate poisoner's second trial

SHANGHAI -- The sentence in the second trial of a postgraduate student charged with poisoning his roommate will be announced in Shanghai on Thursday, local authorities announced on Monday.

The Shanghai High People's Court will announce the sentence to the public at 10 a.m.

This will be the final ruling in the case. If the death penalty is upheld, however, it will be subject to review by the Supreme People's Court of China.

Lin Senhao, a medical student at the prestigious Fudan University, allegedly used N-Nitrosodimethylamine, a deadly chemical compound taken from the university lab, to contaminate a water dispenser in his dormitory on March 31, 2013.

His roommate, Huang Yang, drank from the dispenser on April 1 and died of organ failure days later, despite doctors' efforts to save him.

Lin was convicted of intentional homicide in the first trial last February. Lin appealed, insisting that the poisoning was intended as an "April fool's joke," rather than murder.

The case drew wide attention in China, prompting a nationwide outcry and soul-searching about the moral education of Chinese youth.