Driver who killed seven pleads for forgiveness

A Shandong-born driver who was behind the wheel of a truck that took the lives of seven knelt down and begged the victims' relatives for forgiveness during his trial in a Chaoyang district criminal court yesterday.

Twenty-four-year-old Liu Ping looked pale and haggard as he bowed deeply to the grieving families and muttered "sorry" immediately after stepping into court.

As he did so his mother, who traveled to Beijing from her home in Shandong province, sobbed in the last row of the public seating.