Court turns down killer policeman’s appeal
Print Edition
A FORMER policeman sentenced to death for killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child had his appeal rejected yesterday.
The Higher People’s Court in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region upheld the February 13 verdict handed down to Hu Ping for intentional homicide.
Guigang Intermediate People’s Court also ordered Hu to pay 73,324 yuan (US$12,091) compensation to the victim’s family.
Hu, 34, was drunk when he shot the woman and her husband, who ran a rice noodle restaurant, on October 28 in Pingnan County in Guangxi.
The husband, Cai Shiyong, sustained minor injuries to his right shoulder. His wife Wu Ying and their unborn baby died after she was shot twice.
At an appeal hearing on April 1, Hu denied he had fired three times. He also said firearm residue on Cai’s sleeve proved Cai had tried to grab the gun, causing it to discharge accidentally.
However, the Higher People’s Court yesterday heard from several witnesses who said Cai had not attempted to grab the gun until after his wife was shot.
The court rejected a request from Hu’s lawyer for a new evaluation of Hu’s mental state at the time of the shooting. The lawyer argued that Hu had been too drunk to be aware of his behavior.
An examination report by the Fifth People’s Hospital of Nanning had shown that Hu was drunk but in control of his actions.
The court ruled that Hu, as a policeman, had first violated gun control regulations by carrying a gun to a dinner party and getting drunk. Then he committed crimes by shooting innocent people and leaving one dead and the other injured.
Hu’s crime employed exceptionally cruel methods and caused abominable influence on society, the court said.
It said the February ruling was based on clear facts and valid and adequate evidence, and “the conviction was accurate and the penalty proper.”
It said it would report Hu’s case to the Supreme People’s Court for verification and approval. It is not known when it will deliver the final verdict in the case.
Members of Cai’s family who were in court said the judgment was fair and justified, but declined to comment further.
Hu’s sister, however, said the death sentence was “too heavy” a penalty for what she described as “his one misstep.”
“My little brother has always been a nice guy. He is friendly to the people around him. Since he became a policeman, he worked so hard that he never spent one single Spring Festival with us,” she said.
“I beg the court and the whole society to give him another chance,” she said.
Hu’s lawyer handed over a petition by villagers from Yuwu in Pingnan County, the dead woman’s hometown, asking for leniency for Hu.
He also presented the court with an “agreement of understanding” drafted by the defendant and signed by relatives of Wu, including her mother and brother.
“Hu’s case has rung alarm bells on firearms management in China. Gun carriers must obey the laws and regulations,” said Li Liping, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Shangheng Law Firm.
Li said China had few laws on gun control and some public security organizations failed to give due attention to gun management.
“In this context, a drunk policeman has a higher risk of causing a tragedy,” the lawyer said yesterday.
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