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| China sentences first SARS offenders |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-20 09:05:39 |
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China has sentenced six people on SARS－related crimes to lengthy prison terms. The six were charged with disrupting social order and attempted arson on a hotel housing a group of suspected SARS patients. The sentences are part of an effort to strengthen public order during the national campaign on the disease.
The incident took place about three weeks ago when ten suspected SARS patients in Xiongxian County, 300 kilometers from Beijing, were sent to stay at a hotel for further observation.
The next day, more than 200 people from nearby villages meet at the building, demanding the patients be relocated. The crowd threatened to set the hotel on fire if the patients weren't moved.
A suspected SARS patient said, "It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and we were having a rest inside the hotel rooms. Then we heard some big noise outside which sounded like a big group of people."
Police officer Chen Ping said, "We suddenly found some one or two hundred villagers charging towards the hotel, carrying flammable materials. They threatened to burn down the hotel. It happened so quickly that we eight police officers could not control it."
The head of Xiongxian County was even ambushed on way to the scene.
Xiongxian County Chief Yang Wenyuang said, "At that time, our jeep was almost at the hotel. Then the way was blocked by a dump truck. In a second, the front and rear windows of the car were smashed in by people wielding sticks and bricks."
Some villagers had already ignited cornstalks and other material and were massing at the gate of the hotel and in the lobby.
Police officer Cao Zhiqing said, "We were surrounded by many villagers and all of a sudden, a couple of them broke in and then there was a fire at the back. We rushed to put out the fire and get rid of the burning cornstalks."
The fire caused panic among the patients inside the hotel.
A suspected SARS patient said, "We were all frightened. Our lives were in danger. We were both sad and angered because, after all, we were not confirmed SARS patients."
After a four－hour standoff, officials decided to relocate the patients to prevent the situation escalating further.
Police say that on that afternoon, some villagers used loudspeakers to incite people to gather at the hotel. Six have been prosecuted and found guilty of disrupting social order, attempted arson and destroying public and private property.
Only three weeks after the incident, they have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years.
The incident is just one of the SARS－related cases that have surfaced during China's battle to contain the epidemic. It usually takes much longer for a case to make it through the court system. This incident's swift settlement is being seen as an example of the Chinese government's determination to deal a harsh blow to those disrupting social order.
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Editor: Inner Wu CCTV.com
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