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Local court tries man for Paris murder

A CHINESE man who allegedly killed a teahouse owner and seriously injured another person in Paris was acting in self-defense, a Shanghai court was told yesterday.

The trial for the accused, Lin Bingsong, 33, a native of Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, is being held in Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court.

Lin was detained on February 2, 2007, at Pudong International Airport when he tried to re-enter the country with false documents after fleeing to the Netherlands and Italy, authorities said.

Under Chinese law, Chinese citizens can be charged here for crimes committed in other countries. It was not clear what arrangements, if any, had been made with Paris police, though local prosecutors did have access to statements given by witnesses to the killing in the French capital.

Though prosecutors charged Lin with murder, they asked the court to consider a lenient sentence because the defendant confessed to the killing and the victims' actions had threatened his safety.

The court heard that on the night of May 20, 2006, Lin, who was living in Paris, was having dinner with a fellow villager named Lin Cunhong.

Lin Bingsong told Lin Cunhong that the villager's younger brother owed a 13,000-euro (US$18,103) gambling debt to Ge Zhitao, boss of the Red Lantern Teahouse, the court heard.

Lin Cunhong became angry and immediately went to the teahouse with the defendant. Lin Cunhong urged Ge to bar his brother from gambling, but Ge refused. The two Lins then physically attacked Ge.

Lin Bingsong later received a call from Ge threatening to hurt him and his family.

"I was frightened since I knew Ge was a gang member. I knew he had a hunting rifle," said the defendant, who often gambled in Ge's teahouse.

The defendant and Lin Cunhong asked a friend to help them apologize to Ge by buying him dinner or giving him money. Ge refused, instead saying he would give them a lesson, the defendant said.

Lin Bingsong then borrowed a pistol from a friend for self-defense and went to the teahouse with Lin Cunhong on May 22, 2006, to attempt to resolve the dispute, prosecutors said.

When they entered the teahouse, Ge reportedly closed the door and directed them upstairs where Ge and his friend, Zhu Huai, beat them.

Ge took out the hunting rifle and aimed it, threatening to kill them, Lin Bingsong told the court.

The defendant pulled out his gun and ordered Ge not to move, but Ge proceeded to cock his rifle. Lin Bingsong then fired several shots, killing Ge and seriously injuring Zhu in the chest.

The court was still considering its verdict late yesterday.


 

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