A 34-year-old man, who set fire to a bus in a social revenge attack that claimed 18 lives earlier this year, has been sentenced to death in China.
Ma Yongping set fire to a bus using a bottle of gasoline on January 5.
Yinchuan Municipal Intermediate People's Court in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region sentenced Ma to death yesterday.
The fire, which quickly burned the bus into an empty shell, also injured 32 others.
Chinese prosectorssaid Ma resorted to set the bus on fire to vent out his anger after failing to resolve a financial dispute with a construction contractor amounting to USD 46,000.
China in recent years has witnessed a spate of social revenge attacks by disgruntled people who vent out their anger and frustration with attacks on people.
While there was such arson attack were carried out on buses, China also witnessed a spate of knife attacks on school children in different part of the country.
Chinese official said that the attacks were carried out by disgruntled elements and mentally deranged people.
