Sun Wenbin, a man who killed a doctor at a Beijing hospital, was sentenced to death by the Third Intermediate People's Court of Beijing on Thursday.

Sun, 55, is the son of a 95-year-old female patient who has been bedridden since suffering a stroke for years. The patient was sent to the Beijing Civil Aviation General Hospital by Sun and her relatives on December 4, 2019.

Sun thought that his mother's condition had not improved after receiving treatment from Yang Wen, a doctor that worked in the emergency ward of the hospital. Sun blamed Yang and held a grudge against her. Sun came to the emergency ward and stabbed Yang on December 24. The doctor later died from the serious injury to her neck.

The accident raised great concern among medical workers and the wider public across China. The Chinese Medical Doctor Association called for the protection of medical professionals, while net users mourned the doctor and condemned the fatal violence online.

In recent years, several cases in which doctors were killed or violently treated have occurred China, sparking heated discussion about the safety of medical staff.

The authorities have taken various measures to deal with the problem. China's law on the promotion of basic medical and health care, which will take effect on June 1, bans any organization or individual from threatening or harming the personal safety or dignity of medical workers. The law also calls on the whole of society to respect medical personnel, maintain an orderly medical environment, keep medical staff safe and jointly build harmonious doctor-patient relationships.