Download
Tao Rukun, the 17-year-old who set fire to a girl for refusing his romantic advances, was sentenced to 12 years and one month in prison by a district court in Anhui province on Thursday.
The Baohe District People's Court in Hefei handed down the sentence to Tao for the charge of inflicting intentional injury. Zhou Yan, Tao's former classmate, also 17, suffered massive burns to her face and body when she was splashed with lighter fluid and set on fire by Tao in September.
"Zhou Yan's family is not satisfied with Tao's prison sentence of 12 years and one month. They were expecting life imprisonment," Wang Yalin, the lawyer representing Zhou, said after court on Thursday.
Although her family was unsatisfied with the result, the girl cannot appeal to a higher court because it is a public prosecution case, said Li Zhixian, another lawyer who was assigned to represent Zhou after her family had applied for legal aid.
"But we lodged a protest against the ruling," she added.
Tao's lawyer and parents declined to comment on the sentence.
The incident became one of the most high-profile cases of the year when it was revealed Tao's parents were local government officials - Tao's father works for the Hefei urban planning bureau and his mother is with the Hefei audit office.
Some questioned the court's fairness and transparency when it presided over the closed-door trial on April 23.
"Media outlets and the general public were both excluded from the hearing only because the defendant is underage, it's conventional," said Han Wei, senior lawyer and partner at Anhui's Zhongtian Law Firm.
"Neither public opinion nor the degree of satisfaction of the injured party should affect the course of justice," said Han.
He added the court was under huge pressure because the majority of the public was on the side of Zhou Yan.
Zhou's team of lawyers withdrew their request for additional civil compensation on May 4, and decided to begin civil litigation in August, Wang said.
"It's possible that the judge might offer Tao a lower sentence if both of his criminal and civil cases were decided together," said Wu Dong, a senior partner at Shanghai’s M&A Law Firm. "Sometimes the court encourages that when the injured party receives enough financial compensation."
Wu said temporarily dropping civil compensation is a legal strategy to maximize Zhou Yan's benefits. Zhou Yan's father Zhou Feng said he would request 3 million yuan ($475,000) in compensation from Tao.
About the broadcaster:
Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.
委内瑞拉总统:警方直升机袭击最高法院
土耳其:军方对叙利亚库尔德人予以还击
国际英语资讯:German federal parliament says yes to same-sex marriage
打扫卫生 Cleaning Day
国内英语资讯:Senior lawmakers review draft laws, resolutions
体坛英语资讯:Rising long jumper Shi Yuhao breaks Asian junior record
国内英语资讯:Chinese president meets Finnish PM on strengthening cooperation
国际英语资讯:U.S. travel ban goes into effect after court approval
体坛英语资讯:Real Madrid top La Liga as Barca thrash Sevilla
马蒂斯就阿富汗战略与北约盟友磋商
体坛英语资讯:The new silk route, for horses, from Rotterdam to Shanghai
爱国主义教育 Education in Patriotism
国内英语资讯:Symposium held to mark 70th anniversary of aviation companies uprising
国内英语资讯:Chinese premier calls for building of equitable, open world economy
美即将收紧六国签证发放
国内英语资讯:China, Jamaica pledge to enhance cooperation
联合国宣布哥伦比亚冲突正式结束
国际英语资讯:DPRK says Japans law amendment on organized crime aimed at reviving militarism
国内英语资讯:China to conduct 7th census in 2020
国内英语资讯:China urges India to withdraw border guards crossing the boundary
国际英语资讯:Rwandan president welcomes China import expo
国内英语资讯:Chinese VP to attend second Paris Peace Forum
睡眠不足的坏处 The Shortage of not Enough Sleep
挚友 My Best Friend
国内英语资讯:Xi stresses building world-class air force
美印领导人保证加强安全增进贸易
国际英语资讯:Garbage piling up Greek cities as sanitation workers protest enters 2nd week
体坛英语资讯:Slovan Bratislava remain top of Slovakias Fortuna Liga
国际英语资讯:Polish prime minister announces new government
国际英语资讯:Indian PM to visit Israel, Germany next week
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |