Guangxi policeman Hu Ping sentenced to die for killing pregnant woman
Former official whose shooting of pregnant restaurant owner prompted President Xi's harsh criticism will appeal his death sentence
A court in Guangxi province yesterday convicted a former policeman of killing a pregnant woman and injuring her husband, and sentenced him to death.
The policeman, Hu Ping , was detained in October after he shot the restaurant owner in Pingnan county, Guigang , following a quarrel. Hu, 33, was allegedly drunk at the time, and the victim was five months pregnant, according to a Xinhua report.
The woman's husband was wounded in the shoulder.
Prosecutors said Hu fired arbitrarily after the victim told him there was no milk tea on sale at the restaurant.
President Xi Jinping spoke in unusually harsh terms about the incident during a speech to top judges and law enforcement officials last month, calling the suspect a "bastard", according to anonymous sources familiar with the meeting.
"It is very unusual to hear the president swear in such nationwide meetings. He must have been very angry," said a person briefed about the speech.