China airport bomber expresses regret

Beijing: The wheelchair-bound Chinese man, who had set off a home-made bomb at Beijing Airport last month to highlight alleged police atrocities, has expressed regret and sought forgiveness.

Ji Zhongxing, 33, is being held in a detention centre in Chaoyang district after being arrested for detonating the bomb at the airport on July 21. The man severely injured his hand while setting off the explosive device and suffered a perforated ear drum. His left hand was subsequently amputated. Ji said in his blog that he resorted to the extreme act as he was paralysed in a beating by police. State-run Global Times quoted Ji`s lawyer, Liu Xiaoyuan, as saying Ji told him to convey that his intention was not to hurt anyone but only to highlight his plight. The bomb was made of explosive powders from firecrackers. Ji faces up to 10 years in jail for causing an explosion. Far from evoking anger, his action evoked sympathy among public. Ji feels guilty about his actions and has said he set off the bomb by accident, Liu said. Ji would also like to apologise for causing public panic and hurting a police officer. Ji recalled that he passed the device from his right hand to his left before accidentally detonating it. Ji also warned people at airport before the explosion, Liu said. Ji came to Beijing from his hometown in Shandong Province and distributed flyers at the airport from his wheelchair in a bid to attract attention to his cause. He suffered lower limb paralysis in 2005, allegedly the result of a beating by several security officers in Guangdong Province. He has petitioned for compensation since then but has had no success. Commenting on Ji`s action Xu Xin, a professor with the Beijing Institute of Technology, told Legal Daily that Ji might receive lighter punishment in consideration of his warning beforehand, his unintentional motive, and small actual damage. Subsequently a pop singer was arrested for threatening to blow up public buildings in Beijing to vent her anger. PTI