Stade, Germany - Two brothers were jailed for life Wednesday
in Germany for gunning down seven people in a Chinese restaurant in
2007.
Three other defendants were given sentences ranging from four to
14 years for the crime, at the Lin Yue restaurant in Sittensen, 50
kilometres south-west of Hamburg. All five were from Vietnam.
The court in Stade sentenced the 31-year-old marksman and his
35-year-old brother to life for the killings, and a third co-accused
to 14 years for robbery with fatal consequences.
The man who gave the initial tip-off was sentenced to five years
for incitement while a fifth man, the driver of the escape vehicle,
got four years and nine months for abetting a robbery.
Judge Hans-Georg Kaemena justified the severity of the sentences
by describing the crime as 'one of the worst offences in Germany
since the war.'
The crime occurred shortly before midnight on February 4, 2007,
when the British owner of the restaurant, 32-year old Danny Wing Hong
Fan, his 28-year old wife, and five staff from Malaysia, Thailand,
Vietnam and Hong Kong were shot dead in rapid succession.
The restaurant chef was killed with six gunshots and the owner
died of two bullet wounds. His wife and four other staff were tied up
and shot at close range.
One of the five accused also worked at the restaurant.
The murders were discovered by a man who arrived shortly after
midnight to meet his wife, a restaurant employee. Six of the victims
had already died, and a seventh was fatally wounded and died a few
hours later.
Police evidence had included photos showing the bloodied walls and
floors of the restaurant, with slain bodies scattered in various
rooms.
The trial relied purely on evidence such as traces of blood, fibre
and smoke, as there were no independent witnesses to the shootings.
The court had to examine more than 3000 pieces of evidence, a process
which took more than 100 court days.
After exercising their right to silence at the start of the trial,
the accused eventually expressed remorse but blamed each other for
the murders.
This was the second attempt at bringing the men to justice after
the first court case had ended prematurely when a judge became
seriously ill.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story