Man gets life sentence for stabbing doctors

A teenager who fatally stabbed a doctor and injured three others at a hospital in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

On Friday, Li Mengnan, 18, was found guilty of intentional homicide by the Intermediate People's Court of Harbin. He was also ordered to pay more than 680,000 yuan ($107,800) to the victims' families, in compensation.

Li, from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, went to the No 1 Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University six times with his grandfather for treatment of a spinal problem. After diagnosing Li with a spinal inflammation in April, the hospital also found he was suffering from tuberculosis. It said he should first be treated for TB before it could treat the spinal problem.

Li and his grandfather went to the hospital for the last time on March 23. The hospital again suggested that treatment for the inflammation be halted until the TB was cured. Li thought the hospital was refusing him treatment for his spinal condition.

In the afternoon, Li fatally stabbed Wang Hao, an intern, and injured three other doctors in the rheumatology department. He had never met Wang before.

Wang Dongqing, Wang Hao's father, said he accepted the verdict. "Justice has been done for my son," he said.

Wei Liangyue, one of Li's lawyers, said he had expected that the sentence would be no more than 15 years' imprisonment.

"Li told his grandfather that he killed and injured the doctors. He didn't resist when the police came for him. Thus he intended to give himself up to the police," said Wei. "Also, one needs to consider that the repeated trips between his hometown and Harbin for treatment had made him angry."

Li Fangping, the other defending lawyer, said on July 25 when the local court in Harbin heard the argument that the hospital had made mistakes when treating Li, and that a doctor may have discriminated against him as he also had TB.

However, the local court dismissed those arguments.

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