CHINESE POLICEMAN EXECUTED FOR BRUTAL KILLING

a policeman in central China's Henan Province was executed for killing a man by throwing him from the third storey of a police office building. Li Litian of Zhoukou City was executed for killing Li Shengli, a laid-off worker, on Sept. 20, 2004. Li and five other cops beat the man at the station because the latter was involved in a spat with the family of local court official Lu Liusheng. The beating was a favor Lu had asked of the officers. Later, the worker was thrown from the third storey of the station. A city court handed down a death sentence to Li and gave court official Lu Liusheng a death sentence with a two-year reprieve in May 2007. The ruling was upheld by the provincial higher court in November and was approved by the Supreme Court. The other officers received differing jail terms, including a life sentence.