Drink-driver who said 'my father is Li Gang' admits blame for death

The son at the centre of the infamous 'my father is Li Gang ' traffic accident at Hebei University last year admitted in court yesterday that he was responsible for the death of a student he ran over, and pleaded guilty to traffic offences.

Baoding's Wangdu County People's Court said it would hand down its verdict another day. The lawyer representing the dead student's family said he was expecting a 'not very severe sentence'.

Wangdu county prosecutors told the court that Li Qiming, the 22-year-old son of Li Gang, a deputy district police chief in Baoding, should face three to seven years' jail, according to Article 133 of the Criminal Law.

They charged Li Qiming with traffic offences after he ran over two women students while speeding through the campus in Baoding while drunk late at night on October 16. One of the women, 20-year-old Chen Xiaofeng, died. Li Qiming was arrested on October 24.

After running over Chen and Zhang Jingjing, Li Qiming was stopped by campus security guards and students and attempted to avoid punishment by referring to his father's influence. 'My father is Li Gang' quickly became an online catchphrase, sparking widespread outrage about the abuse of power by officials and their families.

Chen family lawyer Hu Yihua said the verdict would not be very severe, based on the way the case had developed. The authorities put pressure on Chen's family to accept 460,000 yuan (HK$544,000) in compensation and sign a letter of forgiveness in November.