China: Baby killer's death sentence confirmed in Beijing

Beijing, Nov 29: A court in Beijing Friday upheld a man's death sentence who in July this year killed a two-year-old child after he snatched her from a pram and threw her to the ground.

The Beijing Higher People's Court Friday morning rejected the killer's appeal and pronounced the final judgment on the crime as intentional homicide, reported Xinhua.

Han Lei, 39, who claimed to be drunk at the time, grabbed the infant girl as he argued with her mother over a parking space and dashed her on the ground in the Daxing District of Beijing July 23. He fled the scene but was arrested the next day.

The child was severely injured and died days later in hospital.

Han was sentenced to death by the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court Sep 25 on charges of intentional homicide, but appealed to have his crime reduced to involuntary homicide on the grounds that he didn't know it was a baby carriage nor that he was hurling a baby.

According to China's law, involuntary homicide receives a sentence of three to seven years imprisonment, but intentional homicide carries a mandatory death sentence.

IANS