A Chinese court sentenced drunk driver Sun Weiming to life imprisonment on Tuesday, revoking an earlier court's death sentence. [Xinhua]

The Sichuan Provincial Higher People's Court sentenced a drunk driver to life imprisonment on Tuesday, revoking an earlier court's death sentence.

The court announced the judgment after hearing the appeal of Sun Weiming, 30, against his death sentence in July for his involvement in a fatal accident because of drink driving handed down by the Intermediate People's Court of Chengdu, the regional capital.

Unlicensed Sun was convicted of being drunk and speeding in Chengdu in December when he struck four other cars, killing four people and injuring another.

Sun was sentenced finally for the crime of "endangering public safety", the same as his first instance judgement. He is the first person in China having been sentenced on the charge following a road accident.

The Provincial Higher People's Court said it considered Sun could have predicted totally the serious consequences caused by his speeding and unlicensed and drink driving, although he had not been an intentional cause of the accident.

But the court said it also believed Sun had showed sincere regret for the crime and had made an all-out effort to compensate the victims' families, and his penitential behavior had been accepted by them.

Before the second trial started, Sun's family paid more than 1 million yuan (146,420 US dollars) compensation to the victims' families.

Han Changjin, a family member of one of the victim, said after the trial result came out: "We believe in the law."

Jin Yuhang, another family member of one of the victims, said he would not appeal the decision.

Another family member Zhang Zhiyu said, "I could accept the court's final verdict as long as Sun was convicted of the same charge."

But Sun Xiaomei, Sun's younger sister, said she was not satisfied, and the family still wanted to try different legal channels.

The sentence was handed down amid a two-month nationwide crackdown upon drink driving launched in August following a series of fatal accidents involving pedestrians and drunk drivers.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2009)