The teenage son of a renowned Chinese singer and a senior General in the military stood trial in a district court here for his alleged involvement in a gang-rape which evoked a nationwide anger.
Five suspects were detained on February 20 after a woman reported to the police that she was taken to a hotel and gang- raped after drinking with them in a bar on February 17.
Police insiders said Li Tianyi, son of Li Shuangjiang, dean of the music department of the People's Liberation Army, is among the five suspects, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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The Beijing Haidian District People's Procuratorate filed rape charges against the five suspects on July 8 after criticism that the trial is getting delayed due to involvement of son of Li, who holds the rank of Major General in PLA.
During two meetings held before the trial, lawyers of the five suspects and the victim disagreed on whether it was a gang-rape or prostitution case. Junior Li's mother, Meng Ge, applied to make the trial a public hearing, but her application was overruled.
Tian Canjun, lawyer of the victim, said that the woman is under great psychological stress and has been hospitalised. She will not participate in the trial.
Li Shuangjiang, 74, built his reputation in past decades by singing popular patriotic songs. It is not the first time that the younger Li has been in trouble. The 17-year-old and another teenager attacked a couple who allegedly blocked their driveway near the entrance of a residential community in Beijing two years ago. He was later sent to a government correctional facility for one year.
Following this Chinese President Xi Jinping gave the PLA musicians a rare public scolding for "fooling the masses" and passed orders to curtail their privileges including their television appearances.
The PLA Daily, the armed forces' mouthpiece, on its front-page announced new measures by the General Political Department to curtail the privileges of the military's art troupes, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.
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