The China University of Political Science and Law gives a press conference on Wednesday morning, October 29, 2008 concerning the murder of 43-year-old professor Cheng Chunming, in a classroom on Tuesday night. Journalists and students all hold white flowers in their hands during the press conference. [Photo: cnsphoto]

Beijing police confirmed on Wednesday that a university law professor was stabbed to death by a student in a classroom.

The murder happened Tuesday night at China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in the Changping District.

Professor Cheng Chunming was about to give a lecture when police say he was attacked by a 22-year-old CUPL student, surnamed Fu.

The Beijing Youth Daily quoted witnesses as saying that the 43-year-old professor was talking with students when the killer walked in with a kitchen knife and then cut Cheng twice on the right side of his neck.

The Changping Chinese Medical Hospital said Cheng had both his carotid and cervical vertebra broken. He died of excessive blood loss before reaching the emergency room.

An anonymous message appeared on the school's BBS (bulletin board system) intranet Tuesday night, saying the suspect was a forth-year student in the university's School of Politics and Management.

Xinhua is working to confirm this information.

Witnesses say the killer used his own mobile phone to surrender to police after the killing.

Cheng obtained his doctoral degree from the Law School of the Montepellier 1 University on Public Law and Political Science in France. He started his teaching career at CUPL in 2000.

The case is still under investigation.