Chinese man killed toddler over parking space

Beijing, China – A man suspected of hurling a 2-year-old girl to death after a quarrel with her mother over a parking dispute was sentenced to death in Beijing.

The Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court convicted Han Lei of intentional homicide.

Prosecutors say that on July 23 Han and his friend, Li Ming, who drove a white Hyundai car, came to a bus station near Keji Road in Daxing district just before 9 pm.

Shortly afterwards, video surveillance from the scene shows Han arguing with a woman with a baby stroller, which he then picked up and threw to the ground.

A nearby streetlight and the car’s headlights were both on, which prosecutors allege shows the defendant clearly could have seen there was a child in the stroller.

But Han insisted he thought the woman only had a handcart.

His attorney, Cheng Zhunqiang, said his client is badly short-sighted and cannot see clearly after drinking heavily or in dimly lit environments.

However, no health records or samples showing the alcohol level in Han’s blood after his arrest were presented to the court.

During the argument at the scene of the incident, it was reported that Han beat up the mother and pulled the toddler from the stroller, lifted her above his head and threw her to the ground. The baby died from severe brain injuries.

At the trial heard on September 16, Han insisted that he didn’t know there was a baby inside and never thought to hurt her. But he said he was willing to pay for the death.

The man also confirmed to the court he was heavily intoxicated at the time and said he did not mean to harm the child.

He said: “we didn’t want to stop the car at the bus station, but it was the only way to go,” he told the court. “So I got out to talk with her, but she wasn’t polite.”

He confessed he then slapped the woman’s face during the heated argument.

“I felt ashamed fighting a woman in public, so I transferred my rage to the handcart, throwing it to the ground. I didn’t know what I’d thrown until someone shouted that was a child,” he said.

Han said he got back into Li’s car and fled the scene, heading for Fangshan district, where police caught him at a swimming pool the next day.

Li surrendered to authorities on July 25 and was charged with aiding and abetting a criminal.

Prosecutors read out five witness statements in court from passers-by who said they saw the child in the stroller and attempted to stop Han from hitting the girl’s mother.

Pictures of the dark-blue stroller and several toys taken at the scene were presented as evidence.

In his final statement, Han, handcuffed and shackled and wearing a standard blue vest and black trousers in the dock, expressed his regret to the victim’s family.

Prosecutors said Han had been sentenced to life in prison for car theft in 1996, and was also sentenced to a year for disturbing management of the prison. He was released in October last year.

Under Chinese Criminal Law, those who carry out an intentional crime within five years of release from prison can receive heavier punishments.