A police officer points his gun at a target during a training session on the use of weapons on Friday in Mianyang, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Photo: CFP

Rice noodle restaurant owner Wu Ying's life ended tragically after she told a drunk police officer that her store did not serve milk tea on the night of October 28, 2013.

Hu Ping, 34, a police officer in Guigang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, also took the life of Wu's unborn baby after shooting the pregnant woman twice. Cai Shiyong, Wu's husband, also took a bullet and sustained minor injuries to his right shoulder.

Before the killings, Hu, who had gotten drunk at a dinner, fired a shot on the street while shouting, shot the ceiling of Wu's restaurant, and pointed the gun at the heads of other diners.

The Guangxi High People's Court on Wednesday upheld the verdict handed down to Hu, who was sentenced to death for intentional homicide at his first trial in February. Hu was also ordered to pay 73,324 yuan ($12,091) in compensation to the victim's family at the first trial.

Hu's berserk behavior has aroused reflections on police use of guns in China, as experts warned of loopholes in the law and the necessity of intensifying the training of police.

Court ruling

In his defense during the appeal hearing held on April 1, Hu denied that he had shot three times as prosecutors alleged. He also argued the firearm residue on Cai's sleeve proved he had tried to grab the gun, which caused it to go off accidentally.

During Wednesday's public trial, the court refused to accept his arguments as several witnesses testified that Cai had not attempted to grab the gun until after his wife was shot.

Prosecutors also claimed the evidence Hu provided was irrelevant.

The court also rejected Hu's lawyer's request for a new evaluation of Hu's mental state when the shooting occurred. An examination report presented by the No. 5 People's Hospital of Nanning showed that Hu was drunk but in control.

Family reactions

The family of both the defendant and the victim were all in tears upon hearing the final verdict.

Cai's family labeled the court judgment "fair and justified," but they declined to give further comment.

The court stated that "the conviction was accurate and the penalty proper."

Hu's family, however, believed the death penalty was "too heavy."

"Is it too much to end his life for one misstep?" asked Hu's elder sister, who could barely control her tears and trembling hands.

"My little brother has always been a nice guy. Since he became a policeman, he worked so hard that he never spent one single Spring Festival with us," she said.

The lawyer also presented the court with an "agreement of understanding" drafted by the defendant and signed by the relatives of Wu, including her mother and brother.

"I beg the court and all of society to give him another chance," said Hu's sister.

However, thousands of Net users have supported the verdict and said Hu's crime was unforgivable as he took an innocent life with a weapon that was supposed to be used to protect public security.

Gun control arguments

Hu's case has sounded the alarm on firearms management and triggered debate over gun usage by China's often trigger-happy police.

In a series of previous cases where police shot ordinary people dead, most officers pulled the trigger after "being attacked upon alarm," including Zhang Lei, a policeman in Guizhou Province who shot two villagers dead in 2010 and was sentenced to eight years in prison, and Zhang Yan, a policeman in Liaoning Province who shot dead one in 2012 and was exonerated by the investigation.

While police are entitled to shoot if their personal safety is seriously threatened or after they have given a clear warning, observers said that both the police and the public lack of proper understanding of gun use, as many people would ignore the warning, and insufficient training of police means they often shoot early or unnecessarily.

Wei Yongzhong, a deputy dean of the School of Police Administration at the People's Public Security University of China, described China's gun-related laws and regulations as "not detailed enough."

"For instance, China has different kinds of police, but there are no detailed and strict rules about which of them are allowed to be armed with guns," said Wei.

After years of tight control on police usage of firearms to prevent misuse, the need for intensified training was brought up again by recent public safety threats like the Kunming terrorist attack in March, in which local police were alleged to have "failed" to tackle the criminals who were slashing people.

The Ministry of Public Security launched a special training plan on firearm usage in early April to all security forces in the country, especially those on "front-line patrol," to "strengthen their ability to handle incidents."

A policeman with the public security department in Guigang, who asked for anonymity, told the Xinhua News Agency that it's necessary for police to carry a gun when called, but the gun carrier needs to have passed legal examinations, training and have "real-world" experience.

Another officer in Northeast China's Jilin Province told the Global Times that they have an annual shooting training and test, but that their skills could get rusty after a while as they are busy with other work.

The training frequency should be increased and cover more kinds of police to enhance their familiarity and control of firearms, so that they can stop crimes without harming the public, said Wei.

Poor shooting skills and loose gun management could bring far more damage to public security than individual cases alone, Wang Hongwei, a professor with the School of Public Administration and Policy at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Cases like the Kunming attack and Hu's can both push for better management and training on police gun usage, said Wang.

"Guns are not evil or good, it depends on the user and policemen should always improve their own abilities," he said.  

Global Times - Xinhua