Second trial hears fresh details on student's death

The defense lawyer of former medical student Lin Senhao, who was sentenced to death in February after being convicted of intentionally killing his roommate by poisoning, presented new evidence at a second trial on Monday, saying the victim died of the hepatitis B virus.

Lin handed over his 350-word petition for appeal at Shanghai High People's Court. The trial, like the first, centers on whether he intended to kill his roommate.

The 28-year-old Lin was a postgraduate student at Fudan University's School of Medicine in Shanghai. He admitted at his first trial that he had spiked the water in the dispenser at the dormitory on March 31, 2013. His roommate Huang Yang became sick after drinking the water on April 1, and died of organ failure 15 days later.