Burn victim awaits verdict in trial Burn victim Zhou Yan's mother Li Cong answers reporters' questions after the trial in Hefei, A...

Burn victim awaits verdict in trial

Burn victim Zhou Yan's mother Li Cong answers reporters' questions after the trial in Hefei, Anhui province on April 23, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua)

Burn victim Zhou Yan's attorney, answers reporters' questions after the trial in Hefei, Anhui province on April 23, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua)

Burn victim Zhou Yan is seen in a wheelchair after the trial in Hefei, Anhui province on April 23, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua)

Burn victim Zhou Yan's father Zhou Feng answers reporters' questions after the trial in Hefei, Anhui province on April 23, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua)

This file photo shows Zhou Yan before her tragic burn

A college student in Anhui Province, was put on trial yesterday for disfiguring a girl with fuel oil after she refused to be his girlfriend.

The trial was held in a juvenile court of Baohe district in Hefei. It was not open to the public despite repeated calls from the victim's family for an open trial.

Tao Rukun was indicted in September on the charge of deliberately burning Zhou Yan, 17, a high school student, to serious injury, Zhou's attorney Huang Ao, from King A & P Law Firm, told the Global Times.

The court failed to come to a verdict yesterday, after eight hours of deliberation on Tao's guilt and issues of compensation.

The victim was agitated and cried upon seeing Tao in the courtroom. Zhou had insisted on appearing at the hearing to confront the boy accused of burning her face, neck and hands, resulting in the loss of half of her left ear.

She told the court that Tao poured the fuel oil on her and told her to "go to hell" after her mother denied his request to date her, Huang Ao said.

She has demanded medical compensation of 500,000 yuan ($79,000) and an additional mental damage compensation of 500,000 yuan.

Tao, 17, the son of government officials in Hefei, denied both the charge and request for compensation, without showing any regret for the tragedy that he caused, said Huang.

"Tao should be charged with the crime of attempted murder instead," Huang said. "He had the intention to kill her, and didn't put out the fire."

Zhou's family also strongly disagreed with the charge, saying Tao had threatened Zhou and her family several times and had even tried to set fire to their buildings twice last year, according to the information that Zhou's mother, Li Cong, posted online.

Her family says Tao had been pursuing Zhou since they were at high school and threatened Zhou when she wanted to break up with him. To get away from him, Zhou chose a boarding high school but was still harassed by him. She fell into a serious depression last year and suspended her schooling in August.

After the accident, Zhou's mother had to quit her job in a factory to take care of her. The family has since lived on the father's meager salary of 1,700 yuan per month.

Zhou's tragedy has garnered public sympathy, with the family receiving donations totaling 830,000 yuan as of February 29.

A Beijing-based hospital started providing free medical treatment to Zhou early last month.

"The first step is to help her regain the use of her hands and other body functions," Han Xiaoru, a press officer at EverCare Beijing Medical & Beauty Hospital, told the Global Times yesterday. "It will take at least a year and a half to achieve that ease of motion."