China arsonist sentenced to death

A Chinese man was sentenced to death for setting a bus on fire on July 5 last year which left 30 injured in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The Intermediate People's Court of Hangzhou also deprived Bao Laixu of his political rights for life in the first-instance verdict on Thursday afternoon.

During the trial on Jan. 28, Bao pleaded guilty of arson. He said that his crime was an expression of revenge on society and that he wanted to end his own life because of poor treatment of his tuberculosis for years.

Bao, 35, set fire to a bus with more than 80 passengers aboard with flammable liquid on July 5, 2014 in Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The fire left 30 injured, including 20 in serious condition. The youngest victim was aged 7.

The defendant himself also sustained extensive burns in the fire and had to have his feet amputated in hospital.