Ref's good behavior may earn sentence cut

Updated: 2014-07-02 13:06

By CAO YIN (chinadaily.com.cn)

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Disgraced Chinese FIFA referee Lu Jun may get reduction in sentence for good behavior as the court will hear the case on Wednesday.

The Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court will hear the case for Lu at Yanjiao Prison in Beijing.

The prison has applied to reduce Lu's sentence by one year.

Lu is the only Chinese referee till now to appear in World Cup finals as he officiated the a group stage game between Mexico and Croatia in the 2002 Japan-South Korea World Cups.

According to the latest judicial interpretation, issued by China's top court in April, trials involving official misconduct, including corruption and bribery, and those of inmates who have made great achievements in prison must be open to the public.

The interpretation has been effective since June 1, aiming to make convicts' commutation and release on parole much stricter and more difficult.

It will be the first time for a Beijing court to hear a commutation case in such a public way.

Previously, prison staff members mostly handed in applications for commutation or release on parole to courts with accompanying documents.

Such closed hearings meant some inmates, especially convicted officials, often had their sentences reduced. Holding such trials publicly makes the court decisions open to scrutiny.

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