Lighter charge for student who took hostages

A university student who held two bank clients as hostages and got 100,000 yuan in ransom from a campus bank outlet was charged with hostage taking and not robbery, Haidian prosecutors said yesterday.

Li Li, a 22-year-old student from the University of Science and Technology of Beijing, filled a water bottle with ether on July 12, but he claimed it was filled with sulfuric acid.

He wrote a threatening note which said "My bag has a compound detonator, which is enough to raze the place to the ground. I need 100,000 yuan. Do not call police, or."