GUANGZHOU - A south China court on Friday failed to make a verdict after rehearing the case of a migrant worker who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for taking cash from a malfunctioning automatic teller machine.
The verdict of the 24-year-old's first trial sentence last year sparked an outcry from media and legal experts alike. Many people said Xu Ting, from Linfen City, Shanxi Province, who worked in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, as a security guard, did not deserve such a severe punishment.
He admitted last year to withdrawing 175,000 yuan over repeated visits to the same machine in 2006.
The Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou was told by the Guangdong Provincial Higher Court last month to rehear the case. It said the November ruling lacked evidence and that some facts needed clarification.
In court on Friday, prosecutors insisted in charging Xu with theft while the accused's lawyers protested their client was not guilty.
The court session, which lasted four hours starting from 9 a.m., has been covered by more than 100 journalists nationwide.
