Photo of the three inmates. (people.com.cn)
Three inmates, who escaped from jail last year after killing a guard, went on trial at the Intermediate People's Court in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province on Tuesday.
The trio, Gao Yulun, Wang Damin and Li Haiwei, are each charged with breaking out of jail using violence, intentional homicide, causing intentional injury, larceny and intentional destruction of property.
More than 600 people, including relatives of the defendants and victims, attended the public trial.
The three escaped from a jail in Yanshou county, about 150 kilometers from Harbin, in the early morning of Sept 2, 2014, after killing a guard.
At the time, Gao, 50, had been sentenced to death. Wang, 35, and Li, 29, were charged, respectively, with assault leading to death and murder.
After their escape, more than 15,000 police officers and a helicopter were deployed in the hunt for the fugitives. Authorities offered a reward of 150,000 yuan ($24,180) for information leading to their capture.
The authorities captured Li on Sept 3 and Wang on Sept 4.
Gao was reported to police by his niece's family when he showed up at her home in the county's Wangjiatun village on Sept 11, nine days after his escape.
The case continues.
