Beijing: The son of a well-known Chinese general went on trial Wednesday over an alleged gang rape, in a case that has focused attention on the sometimes outrageous behavior of the offspring of the country's elites.
A group of journalists awaited Li Tianyi and four co-defendants as they were driven through the gate of Beijing's Haidian District Court. The case is not open to the public because Li is a minor.
The 17-year-old Li has denied taking part in the February incident at a Beijing hotel that followed a night of heavy drinking.
Li is the son of Li Shuangjiang, a general famed for crooning patriotic anthems for the People's Liberation Army and starring in scores of television galas.
He was sentenced to a year in detention in 2011 as a 15-year-old for attacking a couple over a minor traffic dispute and threatening onlookers in a case that attracted widespread attention.
The children of China's wealthy and politically connected are routinely mocked on public networking sites for their sense of entitlement and wasteful spending.
