Man sentenced to 6 years in jail for airport blast
機場爆炸案冀中星被判六年監禁

The man known as the Airport Bomber has been given a six-year prison sentence. Ji Zhongxing was seeking redress over an alleged beating by public officials in 2005. His lawyer says Ji is considering an appeal.

Six years in prison.

On Tuesday, the Beijing Chaoyang District Court delivered this verdict to Ji Zhongxing. He was found guilty of detonating a home-made explosive at the Beijing Capital International Airport on July the 20th.

Back in mid-September, Ji’s lawyer refuted the prosecution’s claim that Ji intended to commit suicide or harm others. The lawyer said Ji was only trying to gain public attention.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I just wanted the attention of the police so that they could take me away, so I could voice my complaints. I also asked people around to leave in order to draw police attention.” Ji said.

The bomb went off after police stopped Ji from distributing pamphlets to call attention to his plight.

He claims that in 2005 he was beaten badly by local authorities in the southern city of Dongguan, and was left partially paralyzed.

The blast injured one policeman, and Ji lost his left hand.

“I regret that I acted in such an extreme way. I shouldn’t have expressed my grievance like that, even though I wasn’t able to get redress. I hope the court can give me a second chance.” Ji said.

Police in Dongguan have been re-examining Ji’s case, but so far there are no new findings.