Society

Trial starts for driver accused of killing two

By Li Jiabao (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-18 08:06

Beijing - A driver, who allegedly killed two people and injured two in an accident last year, stood in court charged with endangering public security on Tuesday morning.

Chen Jia, the alleged drunken driver who killed two people and injured two in May last year, is brought to trial at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday. Xinhua

Chen Jia was allegedly driving his black Infiniti when he collided with a white Fiat and then a bus at 5:35 am on May 9, 2010, at an intersection near Silk Street in Beijing's Chaoyang district. He is accused of fleeing the scene but was taken into custody 10 hours later.

Prosecutors say the accident happened when Chen accelerated to beat a red light and then turned around to talk with his friends in the back seats. He first collided with a white Fiat, killing the driver Chen Weining, 35, and his 6-year-old daughter, and injuring Chen's wife Wang Hui, before hitting a bus and injuring a 69-year-old passenger. No one in the Infiniti was injured.

Chen later confessed that he had consumed a lot of whisky at a friend's birthday party before agreeing to drive three friends back home.

Prosecutors said Chen Jia was fully responsible for the accident because he was drunken driving, speeding and running a red light.

The case was first heard by the court of Chaoyang district on November 25, 2010, but it was transferred to Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court on April 22, which implies that Chen may face at least a life sentence, because only when a district court has no jurisdiction or the penalty is a life sentence or above will a case be transferred to an intermediate court.

However, Lu Junfen, Chen's defense lawyer, argued that Chen should be charged with causing a traffic accident rather than endangering public security.

A traffic accident crime is a crime of negligence, which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years, while the charge of endangering public security can mean the death penalty.

An Infiniti that was alleged driven by Chen Jia stands next to a bus that it was also in collision with last May. Provided to China Daily

"The accident was caused by his negligence. He really intended to avoid the tragedy, though he did not," Lu said.

Lu added that the defendant had married only six months before the accident and had no resentment toward society and thus lacked any motivation for endangering public security.

Legal experts also said the charge is challengeable.

Ruan Qilin, a professor in criminology at China University of Political Science and Law, told China Daily a key factor in the charge is missing - evidence proving the crash was not caused "accidentally" and that Chen "intentionally" threatened public security.

"Chen should be charged with hit-and-run instead", Ruan said. "It was not Chen's intention to hit other vehicles twice with the aim of damaging them."

The agent for the survivors claimed supplementary civil compensation of more than 6 million yuan ($920,000) in addition to a criminal punishment. Chen Jia's family is selling property to pay for the compensation.

During most of the court session, Chen lowered his head, but, when the agent for the survivors asked for an apology for Chen Weining's father, who listened to the trial in solemn silence, Chen Jia bowed to the father and said: "One year has passed and I have never had a sound sleep or a good meal. Because of my mistake, you lost your family members.

"I never expected the consequences would be so severe. If possible, I would like to have them back at the price of my life. When I finish my prison term, I'd like to do all that I can for you, just as your son did. I hope one day, maybe it will never come, you can forgive me."

The court did not pronounce a verdict on Tuesday.

In a similar case in 2009, 30-year-old Sun Weiming, a hit-and-run driver in Chengdu, Sichuan province, who was driving without a license, was sentenced to life for endangering public safety after he killed four people and injured one in a drunken-driving accident.

Figures from the Ministry of Public Security show more than 3,500 people were killed and 9,000 people injured each year in drunken-driving cases from 2006 to 2010.

Wang Huazhong contributed to this story.