A man was sentenced to death for killing the woman he had been pursuing for eight years, Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court announced on Thursday.

The man, 27, surnamed Xue, threw the woman, 26, out of a 19th-floor balcony on March 21 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The murder happened after Xu discovered that the woman had a boyfriend, and after she rebuffed his physical advances.

The two were high school classmates from Henan province. After graduation, Xue went to the United States and Australia for studies. The woman began working in Hangzhou after graduating from a domestic university.

Xue said he was trying to win her heart since 2009, and bought her many gifts, such as bags and necklace, worth 40,000 yuan ($6,000).

Xue came back from the US earlier this year and rented a three-room apartment with the woman and her female colleague. The three lived in separate rooms and shared the rent.

Xue told the court that he and the woman did not have any physical contact and she did not regard him as boyfriend.