The suspect was sentenced to death in the first instance of the case of 15 deaths caused by Land Rover collision in Hengyang, Hunan Province.

　　BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) According to the website of Hengyang Intermediate People’s Court, on December 12, the Intermediate People’s Court of Hengyang City, Hunan Province held a public trial of the case of the defendant Yang Zanyun endangering public safety by dangerous methods, and pronounced in court: the defendant Yang Zanyun committed the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous methods, sentenced to death and deprived of political rights for life.

　　The court informed that it was found through trial that at 7: 30 pm on September 12, 2018, Yang Zanyun drove a self-purchased Land Rover into Yongjiang Square in Hengdong County, colliding with the crowd and stabbing the people at the scene with a folding shovel and dagger. Subsequently, Yang Zanyun was arrested and brought to justice by the police. This incident resulted in 15 deaths and 43 injuries to varying degrees, including 6 serious injuries, 28 minor injuries and 9 minor injuries.

　　The court held that the defendant Yang Zanyun’s behavior constituted a crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, with extremely bad criminal circumstances, extremely serious criminal consequences and great social harm, which should be severely punished according to law. The court then made the above judgment according to law.

　　During the trial, the procuratorate produced relevant evidence, and the defendant Yang Zanyun and his defender conducted cross-examination. Both the prosecution and the defense exercised their litigation rights according to law under the auspices of the court, and the defendant Yang Zanyun pleaded guilty in court.

　　More than 300 victims’ families, news media reporters and people from all walks of life attended the trial.

　　More news:

　　Earlier, the media reported that the police handling the case introduced that Yang Zanyun was a "recidivist". From 1992 to 2018, he was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment six times.

　　— — In 1992, in the divorce case with his first wife, Yang Zanyun broke into the judge’s house and slightly injured him because he was dissatisfied with the court’s decision. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for intentional injury.

　　— — In 2001, Yang Zanyun repeatedly illegally sold heroin for others to smoke, and was sentenced to three years in prison for drug trafficking.

　　— — In 2005, due to a neighborhood dispute, Yang Zanyun and his accomplices broke into other people’s homes with weapons such as hammers and iron bars, causing minor injuries to many people. He was sentenced to nine months and three days in prison for the crime of stirring up trouble.

　　— — In 2006, Yang Zanyun was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, suspended for one year, for committing the crime of fire.

　　— — In 2009, Yang Zanyun and his accomplices entered the home of a "card friend" and threatened the other party with a knife to write an iou of 600,000 yuan. Since then, they have repeatedly demanded "arrears" and were sentenced to six years in prison for extortion.

　　— — In 2017, Yang Zanyun was sentenced to one year and six months’ imprisonment by the court in the first instance and seven months’ imprisonment in the second instance because of a conflict with a "card friend".

　　Dissatisfied with the court decision, there is no hope of deliberate revenge in life.

　　According to media reports, after Yang Zanyun was sentenced for the sixth time, he was always dissatisfied with the court’s decision, and he felt hopeless because of his illness. He already had the idea of deliberate revenge. After he was released from prison in March 2018, he began to plan revenge.

　　According to the police investigation, on the day of the September 12th incident, Yang Zanyun’s illness and suffering intensified, and he felt that as he got older, many of his peers even had grandchildren, but he was childless and had nothing, and he became more pessimistic and world-weary, so he had the idea of revenge.

　　On September 12, Yang Zanyun first drove to wait near the gate of Hengdong County Court, with the intention of colliding with the court staff. After failing to find the opportunity, he drove into the Yongjiang Square in the county seat and violently hit the people who were having fun in the square. After the vehicle hit an obstacle and the airbag opened, he got off the bus and slashed the people at the scene with a folding shovel and dagger, causing heavy casualties among innocent people.