Discrimination weighs on US cop's conviction

THE RECENT CONVICTION of Peter Liang, a Chinese-American policeman who accidentally shot a black man to death in New York in 2014, has sparked strong protests from the Chinese-American community. The 28-year-old rookie policeman was convicted of second-degree manslaughter earlier this month, and faces up to 15 years in prison. To many, Liang is being made a scapegoat for a series of police killings of African-Americans, says Monday's Beijing News.

Peter Liang was found guilty of fatally shooting unarmed Akai Gurley while patrolling with his partner on the darkened eighth floor of a building in the borough of Brooklyn. One bullet was fired from his service gun, which ricocheted off a wall and killed Gurley.

His manslaughter conviction is far from "flawed". He did have his finger near the trigger of his gun when his security was not being threatened, and he failed to offer first-aid to the man who was shot.