Man jailed for killing fellow student in ‘attack fuelled by alcohol’ in Sheffield city centre

Xiangyu Li, who was 26 and originally from Ji Lin City, was found dead on Union Street in Sheffield city centre in March this year.

He was a former student at The University of Sheffield and had most recently been studying at The University of Kent.

Yongqi Liang, 25, from Shanghai, pleaded guilty to his manslaughter at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, October 5, and was sentenced to five years in prison.

In the early hours of Tuesday, March 24, CCTV officers at Sheffield Town Hall were alerted to a person laid out on the pavement on Union Street.

A security guard and two police officers attended the scene where they found Xiangyu with significant bruises to his head, neck and chest, consistent with a violent attack.

He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Enquiries led officers to retrieve extensive CCTV footage, which captured the attack on Xiangyu in its entirety.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Oughton, investigating, said: “The footage showed Liang instigate a fight, which escalated dramatically. Liang dragged his fellow student to the floor, punching him violently. As the assault continued, Liang delivered a blow to Xiangyu’s head, he fell to the floor and never regained consciousness.

“The defendant could be seen spending around eight minutes attempting chest compressions, and mouth to mouth resuscitation, before leaving the scene.”

Statements from friends of the pair claimed that they had all been drinking heavily in the hours leading up to the fight.

DCI Oughton added: “The morning after the incident, Liang made plans to leave the country. He got a taxi to Terminal One at Manchester Airport and in an effort to flee to China, booked and boarded a flight to Frankfurt.

“Unfortunately for Liang, officers were waiting for him in Germany and he was arrested under a European Arrest Warrant. He was later returned to Doncaster where he was charged with murder.”

“I cannot put into words how difficult this has been for Xiangyu’s family to come to terms with. Their son came to study in the UK, full of hope and excitement, he’d made friends here and had a life here. Receiving contact from our officers was incredibly tough for them. My thoughts remain with them today.

“This is an extremely sad loss of a young life. Xiangyu was a fit, healthy young man who loved sport and music. His life was taken away in a violent incident, by someone he thought was his friend.”

In his sentencing remarks, The Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson QC described the case as a tragedy in ‘every dimension’.

DCI Oughton said: “I would have to agree with these comments, there is a great deal of sadness at the heart of this case. It was an attack fuelled by alcohol and was a wholly unnecessary and tragic end to a young man’s life.”