A Beijing court has sentenced two cousins to death for crimes
including murdering a Beijing police officer.
Zhang Xinlei, 24, and his cousin Zhang Xinliang, 35, were convicted
in the Beijing No.1 People's Court on Thursday, for killing
39-year-old Tang Chengwen, a police officer in the suburban
Mentougou district on Oct. 22, last year.
The court meted out death sentences to both the cousins, but
gave Zhang Xinliang a two-year reprieve. It said the cousins were
also found guilty of sabotaging public communications facilities
and theft.
The court said the two, along with Lu Haihong, who was sentenced
to five years in jail, stole 197 meters of telecommunications
cables at midnight on Oct. 22 last year, before committing the
murder.
The three rushed their van laden with stolen cables through a
road checkpoint set up by the police. Tang chased and managed to
stop the van, but was then beaten to death by the cousins with
tongs.
Another four people were given jail terms from 18 months to 30
months for harboring the convicts, the court said.
The incident made brief newspaper headlines in the Chinese
capital. China's Ministry of Public Security had offered a 100,000
yuan (about US$12,500) reward for anyone who helped the police
detain the fugitives.
The cousins, both from central China's Henan Province, were
arrested within four days of the manslaughter in their hometown.
The police did not reveal if public information led to the
apprehension of the suspects.
(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2007)
