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Wednesday 7 January 2009
Death of graft-buster not murder, court rules
The former deputy chairman of the Xinzhou People’s Political Consultative Conference was jailed for six years yesterday for reckless driving that led to the death of top Shanxi graft-busting official Jin Yinhuan.
The former deputy chairman of the Xinzhou People’s Political Consultative Conference was jailed for six years yesterday for reckless driving that led to the death of top Shanxi graft-busting official Jin Yinhuan.
Jin, 56, chairwoman of the provincial Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was returning to Shanxi’s capital, Taiyuan , after a three-day fact-finding trip in Xinzhou in October when her SUV was hit by a sedan cutting across from the next lane at 140km/h. The SUV rolled over to the side of the road, killing Jin and her secretary, Wang Rong , and injuring the driver. But the accident took a twist when it was revealed that the sedan’s driver was Li Yi , a former subordinate of Jin and graduate of the same college.
Li initially denied that he was behind the wheel and tried to blame the crash on his driver, who “fled the scene”. But the driver provided evidence that he was in Xinzhou that day.
Jin was a long-serving official watching over Communist Party discipline in Shanxi, and rumours flew that Li was trying to settle personal scores with Jin.
The Yingze District Court in Taiyuan heard the case on December 26 and yesterday dismissed charges that Li had committed murder, citing a lack of evidence. Instead, Li was convicted on a lesser offence, reckless driving.
“Jin gave me much help during my career. She was my benefactor,” Xinhua quoted Li as saying during the trial. “I will spend every penny I have to compensate the victims.”
The driver received a one-year sentence for his unexplained part in an attempted cover-up, but the penalty was suspended for one year because he had confessed.
The judgment yesterday fuelled much debate in the country’s internet chat rooms, with more than 1,000 comments in the Sina.com chat room alone. While most seemed to believe there was more to the incident, they were split on whether the judgment was too harsh.
Some netizens used words like “murder” and “conspiracy” and accused authorities of rushing to close the case.
1 comment:
Death of graft-buster not murder, court rules
Ng Tze-wei
6 January 2009
The former deputy chairman of the Xinzhou People’s Political Consultative Conference was jailed for six years yesterday for reckless driving that led to the death of top Shanxi graft-busting official Jin Yinhuan.
Jin, 56, chairwoman of the provincial Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was returning to Shanxi’s capital, Taiyuan , after a three-day fact-finding trip in Xinzhou in October when her SUV was hit by a sedan cutting across from the next lane at 140km/h. The SUV rolled over to the side of the road, killing Jin and her secretary, Wang Rong , and injuring the driver. But the accident took a twist when it was revealed that the sedan’s driver was Li Yi , a former subordinate of Jin and graduate of the same college.
Li initially denied that he was behind the wheel and tried to blame the crash on his driver, who “fled the scene”. But the driver provided evidence that he was in Xinzhou that day.
Jin was a long-serving official watching over Communist Party discipline in Shanxi, and rumours flew that Li was trying to settle personal scores with Jin.
The Yingze District Court in Taiyuan heard the case on December 26 and yesterday dismissed charges that Li had committed murder, citing a lack of evidence. Instead, Li was convicted on a lesser offence, reckless driving.
“Jin gave me much help during my career. She was my benefactor,” Xinhua quoted Li as saying during the trial. “I will spend every penny I have to compensate the victims.”
The driver received a one-year sentence for his unexplained part in an attempted cover-up, but the penalty was suspended for one year because he had confessed.
The judgment yesterday fuelled much debate in the country’s internet chat rooms, with more than 1,000 comments in the Sina.com chat room alone. While most seemed to believe there was more to the incident, they were split on whether the judgment was too harsh.
Some netizens used words like “murder” and “conspiracy” and accused authorities of rushing to close the case.
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