The Supreme People's Court will re-try a controversial case involving Liu Yong, an alleged crime boss, in Liaoning Province on Thursday.

It will be the first time the Supreme Court has retried an ordinary criminal case since 1949.

Liu's lawyer, Tong Lin, confirmed the news.

"The court hearing will begin Thursday in Jinzhou, Liaoning. The Supreme Court will send judges to Jinzhou to hear the case," said Tong on Tuesday.

Liu Yong, 43, chairman of the board of the Shenyang Jiayang Group, was found guilty of organizing criminal groups, intentional injury, robbery, illegal business operations, and illegal possession of firearms, tax evasion, blackmail, and bribery.

In one of the most serious allegations, Liu reportedly ordered dozens of his subordinates to beat a cigarette vendor to death in 1999.

Liu reportedly had good relations with some government officials, including the ex-head of Shenyang People's Procuratorate, Liu Shi.

The Intermediate People's Court of Tieling, a city in Liaoning Province, sentenced Liu to death at the first trial Apr. 17, 2002.

However, the Liaoning Higher People's Court commuted the penalty after a second trial, sentencing Liu to death with two years' reprieve Aug. 15, 2003.

It had emerged that police might have tortured Liu into confessing the killing of the cigarette vendor, which had led to the death sentence at the first trial, according to the court.

The commutation, however, has sparked controversy in public and legal circles.

Sohu.com, a popular Web site in China, has recorded more than 80,000 comments on the case posted by Internet surfers, setting a record in Chinese Internet history.

(Shenzhen Daily via Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2003)