Son of Chinese tenor on trial for rape

Well-known People's Liberation Army (PLA) singer Li Shuangjiang's teenage son, who as allegedly involved in a gang-rape case, stood trial at a Beijing district court on August 28, 2013. Photo shows Junior Li's mother, Meng Ge, arrives at the court. [Photo: Chinanews.com / Jin Shuo]

The teenage son of a renowned Chinese tenor, accused of gang rape, stood trial in a Beijing district court on Wednesday.

Five men were detained on Feb. 20 after a woman surnamed Yang reported to the police that she had been taken to a hotel and gang raped after drinking with the men in a bar on Feb. 17.

Police insiders, who refused to be named, said that the son of Li Shuangjiang, dean of the music department of the People's Liberation Army Academy of Arts, is among the five suspects.

The Beijing Haidian District People's Procuratorate filed rape charges against the five suspects on July 8.

During two pretrial meetings, lawyers for the five suspects and the victim disagreed on whether it was a gang rape or prostitution case.

Junior Li's mother, Meng Ge, arrived at the court at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday but did not take questions from journalists.

She had applied for the trial to be a public hearing, but her application was overruled by the court.

Because the case involves juveniles, whose privacy is protected by law, the trial will be heard in private sessions, the court said.

Tian Canjun, lawyer for the victim, told Xinhua earlier that Yang was under great psychological stress and had been hospitalized. She would not be present at the trial.

The prosecutors and lawyers questioned the five defendants and the court denied a defense motion to exclude certain evidence, saying it was obtained through due process.

The prosecutors presented the victim' written statements, and the defense lawyers cross-examined the evidence.

A key witness surnamed Zhang testified in court, answering questions from both sides.

The trial is set to continue on Thursday.

Li Shuangjiang, 74, built his reputation in past decades by singing popular patriotic songs.

It is not the first time that the younger Li has been in trouble. He and another teenager attacked a couple who blocked a driveway near the entrance to a residential community in Beijing two years ago. He was later sent to a government correctional facility for one year.