A police officer who shot to death an intruder who jimmied his door open one night 17 years ago was recently sentenced to three years in jail in Changjiang Li autonomous county in Hainan province.

Fu Jichuan was also ordered to pay 69,500-yuan ($10,200) compensation to the victim.

Fu was spared prosecution after paying 6,500 yuan to the victim's father, Liu Yaqie, in 1991.

But Liu refused to accept the verdict and continuously appealed to relevant departments.

After 17 years of undying efforts, his son's slayer was brought back to court by a public prosecutor earlier this year.

The court ruled Fu should be punished because he had committed the crime of intentional murder.

Liu's son posed no threat to Fu's life when the latter shot him, the court found.

(China Daily November 24, 2008)