20 jailed for role in fire at CCTV building

A Beijing court has jailed 20 defendants for the fire that engulfed parts of the new multitrillion-yuan China Central Television headquarters, killed one fireman and tarnished the reputation of the state-owned channel.

The fire was sparked by an unlicensed fireworks display on February 9 last year, the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, as determined by an official investigation. About 30 people were investigated initially, but only 21 were charged.

Xu Wei, a CCTV department head in charge of the new headquarters, was sentenced to seven years in prison, the harshest punishment handed down yesterday. Others were sentenced to between three and six years; three were given suspended sentences. One was exempted from criminal punishment.

The No 2 Intermediate Court found that Xu was the person who decided to have a fireworks display at the construction site of the new headquarters, commissioned the fireworks from Hunan , and agreed to the use of industrial-grade fireworks, knowing the construction site did not have a licence to do so.

The trial was marked with controversy because families of some of the victims said the punishment was unfair while others said more people should have been punished - including higher-ranking CCTV officials or even Beijing officials.

Apart from Xu, the defendants were six other CCTV officials, contractors, security officers at the site, and related business associates who helped in the procurement of the fireworks from Hunan, transported and stored them in Hebei , and prepared the display. There was also a shareholder and a technician from the Hunan fireworks manufacturer.

When the trial was heard in March, the sister-in-law of Xue Jiwei, owner of a logistics business, said Xue could not have committed a crime simply because he organised transport of the fireworks. She told local media that if Xue was guilty, so should the 'manufacturer of the lighter that lit the fireworks and manufacturer of the pickup truck'.