A COURT in Langfang city, Hebei province, sentenced a police officer to death for murder, gave prison terms to his wife and son for concealing evidence and ordered them to pay 60,800 yuan (HK$56,500) compensation to the family of the victim.
Official newspapers yesterday reported the rare case, in which a mainland court has believed the testimony of the public over that of a policeman and ordered the execution of a serving officer.
Police officer Du Shugui was convicted of shooting dead phone company employee Niu Yajun after a dispute on a highway on June 4.
The case in the Langfang City Intermediate Court is seen as a landmark since it is the first time a criminal trial has been held at the same time as a major civil suit. The victim's family sued the officer for 1.2 million yuan.
Friday's trial before Judge Zhang Tieying lasted 11 hours and attracted 500 inside the courtroom and hundreds more outside.
The murder happened when Du was travelling in a minivan with his wife, Tong Jianhua, and son Du Hui on private business on National Highway 112 near Bazhou, Hebei, where Du was a deputy station chief.
Enraged that a truck was travelling too fast, Du forced it to stop.