China's court cases of the year(6)

Ji Zhongxing

Ji Zhongxing

A Beijing court has sentenced Ji Zhongxing, a wheelchair-bound man who set off a home-made bomb at the Beijing International Airport in July, to six years in jail.

Ji had pleaded not guilty during his trial hearing by Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing Sept 17, arguing that he did not intentionally detonate the bomb in the airport's Terminal 3 on July 20. The 33-year-old Shandong-native was injured heavily in the blast and has since been undergoing medical treatment.

Ji was stopped by security staff when he tried to hand out leaflets outside Gate B of the airport's arrival hall on Saturday evening. Ji then warned people nearby to get away before he set off an explosive device in his bag, injuring himself and a policeman, police said.

A witness said that Ji did not throw the bomb after activating it, but held it in his hands, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Ji later appealed for a lighter sentence with the No 3 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing, who upheld the earlier verdict as just.

Ji acted out of desperation, his defense lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan said in earlier statements. In 2005, he was beaten up by security guards in Dongguan so severely that he has since been confined to a wheelchair. Dongguan authorities continue to ignore his petitions for punishment of the attackers, his lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan wrote in a microblog post on Tuesday.

Guangdong provincial authorities promised on Sunday to look into the alleged unjust treatment of a disabled man who police say set off an explosive device the day before at Beijing Capital International Airport.

The Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department said in a statement that the police must thoroughly probe online allegations that Ji Zhongxing, who set off the homemade bomb, was attacked by police in Dongguan eight years ago.