Basement-digging lawmaker stands trial in Beijing

A former lawmaker stood trial in Xicheng District People's Court in Beijing on Wednesday for having allegedly built a basement which caved in and caused the road and surrounding buildings to collapse on Jan. 24, 2015.

Li Baojun, a former lawmaker from east China's Jiangsu Province, hired a contractor to dig an 18-meter-deep basement in his courtyard in Xicheng District without permission.

The incident exposed rampant illegal underground construction and caused concern across the country. He was arrested on Feb. 10, 2015.

The prosecutor said Li had entrusted construction work to unqualified workers and asked them to build the basement illegally. The structure failed to support the basement and resulted in the accident.

The cave-in resulted in a direct economic loss of more than 5.83 million yuan (900,000 U.S. dollars), according to prosecutors.

Defendants from the construction side confessed that they had built the basement without any license or authorization. During construction, they did not stop even when they found water seepage and quicksand.

"Authorities told Li to stop construction and to refill the basement but work continued with the site screened by a fence," said Lu Zufu,director of the construction company, who regretted his action.

Li accepted responsibility for the accident.

The verdict will be delivered at a later date. Endi