Basement-digging lawmaker's appeal rejected
Xinhua, December 22, 2016 Adjust font size:
A court in Beijing on Wednesday rejected the appeal of a former lawmaker who illegally built a basement which caved in, causing the road and surrounding buildings to collapse on Jan. 24, 2015.
Li Baojun, a former lawmaker from east China's Jiangsu Province, was sentenced to five years in prison by Xicheng District People's Court in August, and Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court upheld the conviction.
Li hired an unlicensed contractor to dig an 18-meter-deep basement in his courtyard in Xicheng District without permission.
When the structure supporting his basement collapsed on Jan. 24, 2015, the road and houses nearby were damaged, causing direct economic losses of more than 5.83 million yuan (about 900,000 U.S. dollars).
The case also highlighted the practice of illegal construction across the national capital city. Li was arrested on Feb. 10, 2015.
Lu Zufu, director of the construction company, was sentenced to three and half years in prison by Xicheng District People's Court.
After the ruling, Li and Lu appealed to Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court. Endi