北京审判非法公路赛车

Chaoyang District Court sentenced Tang Wentian to five months of detention with a fine of 10,000 yuan, or about 16-hundred US dollars, for dangerous driving.

The other defendant, Yu Muchun, still a high school student, was sentenced to four months in detention and fined 8,000 yuan, for the same charge.

Tang's request for leniency based on his voluntary surrender was rejected.

Both drivers pleaded guilty and stated they do not plan to appeal the verdicts.

The investigation showed that Tang, driving a Lamborghini, was racing with Yu, driving a Ferrari, around 9 pm on April 11.

The two cars collided in the Datun Road Tunnel near Bird's Nest stadium during the race.

The Lamborghini was ruined in the accident and a woman in the vehicle, surnamed Xu, suffered a lumbar spine fracture.

The accident also caused 300-thousand yuan in damages to the tunnel.

Prosecutors said the highest speed reached by the drivers topped out at 180 kilometers per hour. The speed limit in the area is only 60.

Tang and Yu are also facing civil litigation over compensation for Xu.

The crash has caused wide concern among the public, with some saying the two should be charged with other traffic infractions or endangering public safety, charges that carry a heavier penalty than dangerous driving.

But prosecutor Huang Cheng says the current charges are proper.

"Suspects charged with traffic-related crimes should have intentional motivations and the consequences they cause are more severe than in this case, which usually include casualties. All the evidence we have shows Tang and Yu should not be charged with traffic-related crimes, though the passenger Xu got injured."

Huang also denied that the two committed the crime of endangering public safety through dangerous means, as their misconduct posed a lesser threat than plotting an explosion or a poisoning.

China revised its criminal law four years ago to list dangerous driving as a crime in a bid to curb rampant road violations such as competitive racing and drunk driving.

Wang Bing from traffic department of the Public Security Ministry warns of severe consequence for such road violations.

"Dangerous driving severely disturbs the traffic order, while road racing poses a grievous threat to people's safety and usually cause severe accidents with heavy casualties. Such behaviors should face strict punishments."

Wang also vows that traffic police across the country will enhance crackdowns on competitive road racing.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.