CHINA. BUS CONDUCTOR SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STRANGLING TEENAGER

a female bus conductor from Beijing was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for strangling a teenage girl who was suspected of not paying the full fare. The 14-year-old, Yan Jiqin, and her parents got into an argument with the 42-year-old ticket seller Zhu Yuqin on the bus on October 4. The Beijing Municipal No.1 Intermediate People's Court heard how the conductor then strangled the girl until she lost consciousness. The girl was taken to hospital where doctors pronounced her dead 16 hours later. The conductor was detained on a charges of intentional harm. Earlier media reports had said the immediate cause of death was unclear as the girl may have had a heart condition, but the girl's family denied the fact saying that she was in good health when she boarded the bus.