Society
Accused pleads guilty over fatal CCTV inferno
By Wang Jingqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-24 07:08
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Journalists question the legality of the closed-door court hearing
BEIJING - A former chief of the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters pleaded guilty to the charge of causing an accident with dangerous goods at a Beijing court on Tuesday, more than one year after a fire ripped through the extravagant building in the heart of the capital.
 Two vans carrying prisoners leave Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court, where 21 people stood trial on Tuesday for the CCTV fire, which left one person dead and six injured. The court was closed to the media. |
Xu Wei, the former head of the CCTV's construction office, and 20 other suspects charged over the fire, face up to seven years in prison and fines, if convicted.
The closed trial is expected to last three to four days at the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.
According to the Beijing Evening News, Xu, who was the first of the group to go on trial, pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday.
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The economic loss incurred by the fire, one of the fiercest in the capital's recent history, was estimated at more than 160 million yuan ($23.44 million).
Among other suspects on trial is Sha Peng, the manager of a media company, who allegedly helped Xu buy the fireworks and organize their display. The designer, producer, and transporters of the fireworks have also been charged.
According to the prosecution, the accused ignored the law and caused a severe accident by setting off fireworks without a valid permit and are, hence, criminally liable.
In February this year, the State Council said an investigation into the incident revealed the firefighting systems in the brand new CCTV tower were dysfunctional.
The television network and its contractors had failed to fix broken emergency sprinklers and did not carry out various other tasks that could have brought the fire under control.
The water pump also failed while the fire was raging because the contractors had violated safety procedures and drained reserves of firefighting water for construction purposes, the investigation showed.
The State Council said a total of 71 people have been found responsible for the fire, of which, 44 would face criminal charges while 27 would receive Party and administrative penalties.
Former officials with the construction and work safety supervision authorities are among the 44 facing criminal charges and will be tried for dereliction of duty for not preventing the illegal practices that led to the accident.
Among the 27 who received administrative punishments are Zhao Huayong, former CCTV president, who was demoted, and Li Xiaoming, vice-president of CCTV, who was sacked.
Reporters waiting outside the courthouse questioned the legality of the closed-door hearing of the high-profile case. Chinese law stipulates that trials should be open to the public, except for cases involving national security, individual privacy, minors or other specific cases.
Xinhua contributed to the story.
