Killing of gangster in ‘self-defence’ sparks debate in China after life sentence imposed
Many sympathetic to plight of Yu Huan, who is appealing against his jail term for killing a criminal who was holding him and his mother captive over an unpaid debt
A heated debate is taking place in China after a man was given leave to appeal against his life sentence for killing a gangster who had held him and his mother captive at a factory over an unpaid debt.
The legal saga is being closely watched by the public who question whether the original sentence was fair, especially given that the police intervened in the incident and left without offering the pair any aid.
The latest legal developments were first reported by the Southern Weekly newspaper on Friday. Yu Huan, the son, and Su Yinxia, the mother, were held captive in the reception room of the factory in Guan county in the eastern province of Shandong by a gang of 11 people on April 14 last year.
Su had borrowed a 1.35 million yuan (US$196,000) loan from loan sharks, but was unable to make the 10 per cent monthly interest rate.
The head of the gang, Du Zhihao, subjected the pair to a tirade of verbal and physical abuse, according to the report.