(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-14 14:01

BEIJING -- A Beijing court on Thursday allowed a convicted man to attend his relative's funeral, the first time such an instance has taken place.

Accompanied by six court police, the criminal surnamed Liu emerged handcuffed from a car at the front door of the No. 2 Artilleries General Hospital. His deceased mother was laid out in the hospital's farewell room.

Liu was allowed to walk alone into the farewell room. He touched his mother's face and bent down on his knees to pay his respects. He then saw off his mother in the hearse.

Police guarded against direct contact between Liu and other relatives waiting outside the room.

Liu showed little emotion even when his grieving wife reached out to him. She was stopped by other relatives when she tried to approach him.

"I told the judge that I would not stir trouble," he said.

Liu was imprisoned for four years on the charge of affray in public occasions. He has since appealed the ruling.

Last December, the 40-year-old became involved in a fracas with staff at a karaoke bar in a dispute about the bill. Liu and his friends injured a bar manager and damaged the premises in the melee.

His mother fell ill and died during his imprisonment. His wife then requested the court to allow him to bid farewell to his mother at the funeral.

"It is out of humanist concern embodied by the judicial system to allow a criminal in custody to attend a relative's funeral," Zheng Weiyang, chief judge of the No. 1 criminal tribunal of the court, said Friday. "But the court takes risks to ensure security in the process."

The court did not say if such a grace would become a regular practice.

"I am grateful for the court's grace. I would regret it for the rest of my life for not seeing off my mother," said Liu. He didn't speak on his case.