Public hearing held on airport bomber's case

A court in Dongguan, Guangdong province, opened a public hearing on a lawsuit filed by Ji Zhongxing, the Beijing airport bomber, against Dongguan city government on Friday.

Ji, 34, who was sentenced to six years behind bars by a Beijing court in October for setting off a blast at Beijing Capital International Airport in July, asked the government to disclose its findings about his beating case and asked for an explanation, according to Liu Xiaoyuan, Ji's attorney.

The blast fractured Ji's left arm and left a police officer with minor injuries.

Ji said he set off the bomb because local officials in Dongguan treated him unjustly after he was severely beaten.

Ji, who once worked in Dongguan, claimed he was beaten in 2005 by public security guards, resulting in his paralysis eight years ago.

Liu said the defendants have been passing the buck to each other for years over the handling of Ji's request.

“Government departments have failed to function in dealing with Ji's case,” Liu told China Daily on Friday.

“Ji has sought police help for eight years after he was beaten, but relevant departments did not even tell us whether the suspects have been detained,” Liu said.

Liu and Ji's relatives also visited Dongguan Public Security Bureau on Thursday evening and were told no information was available on Ji's case.

But city government representatives said at the hearing that the government had transferred Ji's request to the city's bureau of public security as soon as it got the request.

“The city government told Ji and his lawyer what it did in this case and did not make any mistakes,” they said.

The police cannot disclose relevant information while the case is under investigation, the city representatives said.

Dongguan Public Security Bureau said police had filed a criminal investigation of the “intentional injury” to Ji Zhongxing late last month, but no other details were made available.

Liu said he was not optimistic about the case.

“But I hope the authorities would work harder and accelerate the investigation into Ji's case in the wake of the public hearing,” he said.

Liu said he was also disappointed that Yuan Baocheng, mayor of Dongguan, and his deputies refused to appear as defendants.

“According to relevant rules and regulations, top leaders should attend court cases when their governments have been brought to court,” Liu said.

The hearing lasted for an hour and a half, attracting more than 30 participants, including Ji's 63-year-old father, Ji Tairong, and elder brother Ji Zhongji.

Ji Zhongji said they would appeal if the court doesn't rule in favor of the plaintiff.

The court had not yet passed a verdict on Friday.

Ji Zhongxing, a farmer from Heze in Shandong province, began working in Dongguan in 1999, earning extra money by picking up passengers on his motorcycle.

But in 2005, he was beaten by two security guards after a dispute.

Ji sued the Dongguan government in January 2007, demanding compensation of 338,267 yuan ($55,500), but the court denied his request due to a lack of evidence.

Ji appealed to the Dongguan Intermediate People's Court in January 2008, but the court upheld the previous judgment.