Group renter stabs roommate

Songjiang district prosecutors have signed off on the arrest of a man accused of stabbing his roommate to death in a group rental apartment, the prosecutor's office said Sunday.

The suspect, surnamed Zhang, 21, from Anhui province, was charged with intentional homicide for the murder of the roommate, a man surnamed Qiu, according to a press release from the Songjiang District People's Prosecutor's Office.

Zhang shared an apartment with Qiu and his wife. He had complained to the landlord about the couple, who often stayed up late, but his complaints fell on deaf ears.

On January 2, Zhang was trying to sleep when he heard the sounds of a television and a baby coming from the couple's room. He knocked on their door and asked them to keep it down.

The request sparked an argument, during which Qiu threatened to call over some friends to give Zhang a beating. Zhang retreated back to his room.

A while later, Qiu paid Zhang a visit. When Zhang opened the door, Qiu slapped him. Zhang then picked up a kitchen knife and plunged it into Qiu's chest, prosecutors said.

Qiu's wife rushed over and saw her wounded husband. She called for an ambulance and the police. Qiu died a short time later. The knife had pierced his heart and left lung.

Zhang threw away the knife, packed his belongings and went to Zhejiang province to see his brother, who convinced him to turn himself in.