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Man in unrequited love confessed to bus bombing

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-14 16:34

GUANGZHOU -- A factory worker testified he bombed a bus in southern China because he was angry about losing the lottery, getting ripped off by an ATM and being rejected by a woman he had a crush on at work, local media reported Wednesday.

Huang Xin, sitting in front, testified on court that he bombed a bus in August last year in the southern city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Tuesday January 13, 2009. [gzdaily.dayoo.com]

The defendant, Huang Xin, 26, said Tuesday on the first day of his hearing in the southern city of Guangzhou that he wanted to avoid fatalities and targeted a bus on August 21 last year that usually had few passengers, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The newspaper said only a driver and one passenger were on the bus, and both survived without serious injuries in the blast in Guangzhou in August.

Huang's lawyers suggested their client might be insane, and the judges decided Tuesday to consider his mental health before announcing a verdict.

An official who answered the phone at the Guangzhou court confirmed that the trial started but would not give further details.

"There will be a court decision soon," said the official, who declined to give his name or say what a possible sentence would be for Huang.

The newspaper said Huang was upset about losing the lottery, unrequited love with a woman at work and getting stuck with counterfeit cash. Just days before the bombing, he withdrew $87 (600 yuan) from a teller machine and $73 (500 yuan) of the withdrawn cash was fake, the Southern Metropolis said.