Three stand trial for deadly central China bank blast

Three men went on trial Friday for allegedly bombing a bank in a robbery attempt that killed two people and wounded more than 10 others in central China's Hubei province last December.

A hearing for Wang Haijian, Wang Wei and Wang An'an began at the Intermediate People's Court of Wuhan, the provincial capital, at 9 a.m.

The three suspects have been accused of setting off a homemade bomb in front of a branch of the state-owned China Construction Bank in Wuhan on December 1, 2011, according to an indictment released by the People's Procuratorate of Wuhan in late March.

The indictment said Wang Haijian had been making improvised explosive devices since October 2010 and was joined by the other two in plotting a bank robbery in July 2011.

The homemade bomb, hidden on a section of pavement in front of the bank, was detonated when clerks were about to load money into a bank vehicle. The bombing killed two people on the spot and incurred financial losses of about 127,000 yuan (US$20,320).