HANDCUFFED and flanked by two armed guards, Peng was led into the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court yesterday morning clearly defiant and seemingly determined to go down fighting.
The Australian businessman nodded and smiled at his mother sitting on the more crowded side of the half-empty court room. He was seated in the dock facing Chief Judge Long Guangrong and his handcuffs were removed.
Although supposedly stricken with hepatitis and dental problems, at no stage during yesterday's 90-minute appearance did Peng show any signs of the physical pain or mental anguish he was said to be suffering as a result of his two-year incarceration.
Dressed in an open-neck blue business shirt and wearing khaki-coloured trousers, he looked healthy, if slightly overweight.
When he was seated, the clerk stood and read out the rules of court decorum: no photography, no tape recording, no walking around, no talking aloud and no applause.
Chief Judge Long proceeded to restate the charges Peng faced and asked if the defendant had anything to say before he delivered the verdict.
