18 January 2012 :

an arsonist behind an explosion that injured 49 people at a rural bank in 2011 in northwest China's Gansu province was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. The Intermediate People's Court in the city of Wuwei handed down the verdict to Yang Xianwen, a former employee of the Rural Credit Cooperative in Tianzhu Tibet autonomous county. Yang, who had been fired by the bank for embezzling public funds, started the blaze in his former workplace in a quest for revenge, according to a court statement. On May 13, Yang ignited 10 liters of gasoline at the door of a hall in the bank, while more than 50 employees were having a meeting in the room, said the statement. Yang was given a lenient punishment because he surrendered himself to police and showed sincere penitence during the trial, it said.