Ex-soldier stands trial for shootings

Prosecutors charged a 63-year-old ex-soldier Monday with five crimes for killing six people in June in Baoshan district and Pudong New Area.

The defendant, Fan Jieming, was charged in Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court with intentional murder, robbery, gun robbery, illegally trading guns and illegally possessing guns, prosecutors said in court.

On June 22, Fan beat a co-worker, Zhang Yunfeng, to death at Shanghai Guangyu Fine Chemical Co Ltd, at 581 Yueluo Road in Baoshan district.

Fan shot and killed an unlicensed taxi driver and stole his car in Pudong New Area during his escape from the plant.

He then shot and killed a guard at a military camp and stole the soldier's rifle before going back to the plant, where he shot and killed three more people.

The prosecution said that Fan intentionally killed the four people at the plant for revenge. It proposed that the court sentence Fan to death.

Fan was a senior director at the plant, which was owned by Li Zhizhong, one of the victims. Li had outsourced the plant to a man surnamed Zhao.

In June 2011, Fan's nephew got him the job running the plant's security and operations.

Li and Zhao had a disagreement over the ownership of plant's equipment after the plant shut down. Li sent Zhang to watch over the facilities.

Fan went to the plant with his son, He Hefeng, at 3 pm on June 22 to fetch some equipment. He poured sulfuric acid on Zhang after they got into an argument. Fan hit Zhang on the head with a metal pipe, killing him. Fan denied his son helped him with the murder.

Fan fetched a rifle from his dormitory and fled after several workers found Zhang's body and called police.

Fan then went to his home in Pudong New Area around 8 pm and picked up two other guns and some ammunition.

Fan hailed an unlicensed taxi and went to Zhoupu town in Pudong New Area, where he shot the driver and stole the car. Fan had initially only wanted to steal the car at gunpoint, but the driver didn't believe that the gun was real and scoffed at Fan's threats. The driver jumped on Fan, who shot him.

Fan said that he shot the driver on impulse, and then decided to kill everyone else who had crossed him because he had already killed two people.

Around 10:40 pm, Fan drove to a military camp at 485 Songbao Road in Baoshan district. He shot and killed a soldier and stole the other man's rifle. Another soldier was seriously injured.

Fan returned to the plant around 11 pm and found Li with his friends. Fan shot and killed Li and his two friends, as well as a security guard.

Fan drove around the plant hoping to kill other people, but police stopped him. Fan shot a police officer in the leg with the rifle he stole from the soldier.

Police confiscated the two rifles that Fan had fired, plus a third gun that he had on him. Officers found three other guns at Fan's home in Pudong New Area. They found a large amount of ammunition in the car.

Fan obtained some of the ammunition after he retired from the military.

He bought the rifle and some bullets from a colleague for 10,500 yuan ($1,737) in 2000. He kept the three guns that he used in military training at the plant.

Fan's son refuted the prosecution's account of the murders. He said his father asked him to attack Zhang. He said he hit Zhang twice with the pipe.

Fan acknowledged that he was short-tempered and often argued with other people. He said his ex-wife divorced him because of his temper.