A man was sentenced to 10 months in jail at Haidian district court yesterday for a hit-and-run that left a police officer injured.

The man surnamed Yu, 51, was stopped by a traffic police officer near the West Third Ring Road on Nov 9 because his car, holding a number plate that ended in a 3, was not permitted to use the roads that day, the Beijing Evening News reported.

It became the first criminal case related to a violation of the car plate ban. Beijing put the ban into place last year to stop cars from using the roads for one day a week each, dependent on the last digit of their number plates.

When Yu, who operated a trade company, was stopped by the officer and asked to show his driving license, he drove his vehicle away.

Officer Luo Xu was dragged along the street and received minor injuries to his face, knee and head.

Yu was arrested four days later after police tracked down his car.

In court, Yu defended himself by saying that he had reacted badly because he was using an Australian driving license, and was unlicensed in China.

He told the court he had urgently returned from Australia a couple of days earlier in response to news that his father was ill, and did not have enough time to get a Chinese license.

"I used to be a surgeon and I would help others in need. Why would I hit the officer intentionally? I just lost control," he was quoted as saying by Beijing Evening News.

Yu added he had not noticed that the officer was dragged along the street by his car.

The defendant later asked to settle the case with the officer out of court but was refused. He was then charged with stopping an officer from performing his public duty.

Yu said he would not appeal and would compensate the officer if the court requested.

Xu Jin, presiding judge of the case, said it is illegal to drive away when being questioned by an officer, the Mirror Evening News wrote.

He said drivers are usually just fined 100 yuan for this violation, but escaping will lead to a much heavier punishment.

METRO