Earthquake hero stands trial for fraud

Lei Chunian, a man who became a hero after saving seven classmates in the 2008 earthquake, stood trial in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday for alleged fraud.

The 22-year-old was tried at the People's Court of Gaoxin District in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, on charges of forging stamps and fraud involving about 460,000 yuan ($75,180).

According to the prosecution, Lei allegedly started to make money through fraud in 2013, when he had a girlfriend surnamed Hao. He is suspected of receiving 100,000 yuan from Hao, which he said would be used to obtain her a job.

In the following several months, Lei allegedly took money from many others, pledging to help them win bids, gain a driver's license or send their children to good schools.

He went to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province in October 2013, where, eight months later, he asked police to find his stolen wallet. Police found the man was wanted online and detained him. He was arrested in July.

Lei earned his fame after a destructive earthquake that jolted Sichuan in 2008, which left 87,000 dead or missing.

Lei, then a ninth-grader, rushed out of the school building immediately after the quake, but returned soon to rescue seven classmates. The school building collapsed the moment he jumped onto a tree.

He then became a volunteer for quake relief, and was selected as a torch bearer for the Beijing Olympics.

Lei's arrest sparked heated public discussion. Some net users voiced thoughts on education, as well as the effects on young people of positive reporting, while many others warned young people to be modest and prudent.

"The self-control of some teenagers is not strong enough," said a net user nicknamed Yuanlaishicaicai on Weibo.com. "They have merits and weak points. We shouldn't flatter them when they do something good nor despise them when they make mistakes, so that they can grow up in a peaceful environment."