KUNMING - A murderer who was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for killing two people might face a new trial following an outcry from the public and criticism of his sentence.

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The High People's Court of Yunnan province said on Tuesday it will double-check the facts of the case, in which Li Changkui, a 29-year-old farmer, raped an 18-year-old girl and later killed her and her 3-year-old brother in 2009 in a village near Zhaotong city, in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

"We will treat public opinion seriously and handle the case according to the relevant regulations. The court will conduct further studies into this case and then publicize the result," said Tian Chengyou, a spokesman for the court.

An insider at the court, who refused to be named, told China Daily the Supreme People's Court was aware of the case and will probably hear any new evidence. Another possibility is that the provincial prosecuting authority may appeal against the judgment with the approval of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Tang Hongxin, a Beijing lawyer, said either of the two processes could be legal and noted that the victims' family can also directly complain to the Supreme People's Court and ask for a retrial.

Li was sentenced to death at his first trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Zhaotong on July 15 last year and his crime was described as extremely cruel and one that had an extremely negative impact on society.

The court heard that Li raped 18-year-old Wang Jiafei and killed her by hitting her on the head with a hoe before killing her brother, Wang Jiahong, by smashing him on the floor. He then used rope to bind the two bodies together.

Li appealed to a higher court, and in March this year, the High People's Court of Yunnan province commuted Li's sentence to a death penalty with a two-year reprieve after taking into account that he had "handed himself over to police and had also compensated the victims' family".

The sparing of his life triggered widespread public anger, especially on the Internet, after the victims' elder brother, Wang Jiachong, posted a photo of a letter with red fingerprints from his 200 fellow villagers who protested the change in Li's sentence.

"I begin to get frightened," wrote a netizen who used the name Wodetaohao. "If a man who raped a girl and killed two people is not executed, I don't know who can guarantee my safety."

Wang Jiachong denied that Li had handed himself over to police or that he had compensated the family.

According to the provincial high people's court, Li surrendered four days after the murder. However, Wang Jiachong argued that it was only because Li had nowhere else to go.

"He escaped after killing my brother and sister. The police issued a warrant for his arrest, he had nowhere to hide and thus went to the police."

Yang Zhengfu, 66, Wang Jiachong's fellow villager, said:"Does it mean one can kill someone and then surrender to avoid a severe punishment?"

As for the compensation mentioned in the second verdict, Wang Jiachong said Li paid about 22,000 yuan ($3,402) only after the local village heads urged him to do so.

Lawyer Tang said the extent of any leniency offered by a court should depend on how severe a murder is and the extent of forgiveness the killer has received from his victims.

"The law stipulates that if a crime is very severe with an extreme level of damage, the act of handing over oneself may not apply to commuting punishment and this stipulation seems applicable in this case."

Liu Ning, director of the Yixing Law Firm, wrote in his micro blog that a basic condition for a reprieve is to gain the forgiveness of the victim's family.

"Apparently, this requirement was not met."

Xinhua contributed to this story.