Man on trial for killing traffic cop withdraws confession in court
Print Edition
A MAN accused of killing a traffic police officer in a hit-and-run incident in March yesterday withdrew his confession on the opening day of his trial at the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court.
Defendant Sun Haojie, 32, was detained on March 11 after knocking down police officer Mao Shengquan, also 32, while driving his BMW across the junction of Wuzhong and Hongxu roads in Minhang District.
Police said at the time that Sun made an illegal turn and that Mao had tried to get him to stop.
Prosecutors said in court yesterday that Sun had signed a confession in which he admitted to driving away as Mao was holding on to the side of his car.
The defendant, however, who is facing a charge of intentional injury, yesterday denied making such a confession.
“I disagree with the charge of intentional injury, because I never intended to injure the traffic cop,” he said.
“I have made a turn at that junction before, but never been stopped before,” Sun said.
He added that he had no idea Mao was holding on to the door frame as he accelerated away from the junction.
“I thought he was chasing me, but I just wanted to be on my way,” he said.
After driving a short distance, Sun said he realized Mao might have been hurt and decided to return to the scene.
“I guessed that I might have knocked him down, so I told another police officer what I’d done,” he said.
In court, prosecutors presented an audio clip, recorded by another police officer soon after the fatal accident, in which Sun is heard saying: “He was trying to catch me but fell to the ground.”
Surveillance footage showed that Mao ran 16 meters to catch up with Sun’s car before taking hold of the window frame. He was then dragged for about 10m before being thrown to the ground and striking his head on the road surface.
Sun’s lawyers argued that by the time Mao grabbed hold of the defendant’s car, the driver had already begun to speed away and could do nothing to prevent the police officer’s fall.
After the accident, Mao was taken to Shanghai No. 6 People’s Hospital, where he later died from a brain trauma.
The court did not reach a verdict yesterday.
If found guilty of intentional injury, Sun could face a sentence of between 10 years in prison and the death penalty.
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