A life sentence in reporter’s death
A Chinese mine boss has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the beating death of a reporter, a court official said. The high-profile case had prompted an unusual demand for an investigation from President Hu Jintao.
Hou Zhenrun, head of a small unlicensed mine outside the northern city of Datong, was accused of organizing a gang of five men to beat reporter Lan Chengzhang and his colleague, Chang Hanwen, on Jan. 10. Lan died the next day.
A court official who would give only his last name, Wang, said the five men who beat the reporters received jail terms of five to 15 years.
A sixth was sentenced to a year for harboring the suspects. Hou has appealed.
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