Court rejects bid for new psychiatric exam
A Shanghai court yesterday rejected the death-sentence appeal of police killer Yang Jia , the unemployed Beijing man who has won sympathy from some people even though he stabbed six officers to death in a rampage in July.
The case will now go to China's highest court for review, as is customary for death sentences, his lawyer said. After a one-day session to hear arguments on October 13, the Shanghai Higher People's Court upheld the original sentence for murder handed down last month.
'The facts are clear, the evidence is certainly ample, the designated crime is accurate, the measure of punishment is appropriate, and the trial procedures are legal,' Judge Xu Wei said. 'The court maintains the original sentence as the final judgment.'
Yang, 28, showed little emotion as the judge read out the decision. Dressed in black trousers and a blue polo shirt, he was led out of the packed courtroom by police, who grasped his arms.
In an attack that shocked the nation, Yang forced his way into Shanghai's Zhabei district police station after throwing a homemade bomb and stabbing a security guard. He then stabbed nine police officers on several floors.
His lawyer, Zhai Jian , expressed disappointment the court had rejected his call for another psychiatric evaluation. Some legal experts had questioned the validity of the original assessment, which was ordered by Shanghai police and conducted by a local institution.
