Yao Jiaxin appears at the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court for a hearing on March 23. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

Yao Jiaxin, a university student who stabbed a young mother to death to cover up a hit-and-run accident, was executed on Tuesday in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, with the approval of the Supreme People's Court (SPC).

Yao, 21, a student at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music, was convicted of murdering Zhang Miao last October in Xi'an to prevent her from reporting an earlier incident in which Yao hit her with his car.

Yao was sentenced to death by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court on April 22. He appealed his sentence after the trial.

The Shaanxi Provincial People's Procuratorate held that the facts of the case are clear and the evidence is sufficient and suggested rejecting the appeal and maintaining the court's judgment.

The Shaanxi Provincial Higher People's Court heard the case and rejected the appeal on May 20, sending the case to the Supreme People's Court for review.

The SPC reviewed the case and held that Yao had committed the crime of intentional killing, based on the fact that Yao ran into the victim while driving his car and resorted to murder to silence her.

"Yao stabbed the victim's chest, stomach and back several times until she died. The motive was extremely despicable, the measures extremely cruel and the consequences extremely serious," said a statement provided by the SPC.

Yao surrendered himself to police in the company of his parents four days after the murder. This was not enough for him to earn leniency, according to the SPC.

The SPC held that the court judgments produced after the first and second trials were accurate and appropriate and gave its approval for the death sentence.

The Xi'an Intemediate People's Court executed Yao on Tuesday after announcing the SPC's review results.