Court suspends sentence of man convicted of drunk driving

A court in Jiangxi province on Monday turned down the extra compensation request filed by the family of a traffic accident victim, and suspended the three-year sentence given to the man that caused the accident, the Jiangnan Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday.

Liao Weiming, the former vice-president of Jiangxi Agricultural University, was convicted of drunk driving in 2011 after he caused an accident that killed two pedestrians and injured four in March 2011 in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

In the first trial in October 2011, a local court convicted Liao to three years in jail and ordered him to pay a total compensation of 2.09 million yuan ($332,680) to the victims' families.

One of the families and Liao both appealed to the Nanchang Intermediate People's Court in November 2011, with the family asking for extra compensation and Liao asking for a suspended sentence.

The court rejected the family's request, but supported Liao's claim, saying that the more lenient sentence was imposed because Liao turned himself in, paid compensation to the families, and is a top talent in the agricultural sector.