3 Charged in deadly central China bank bombing

Prosecutors in central China have filed charges against three men for bombing a bank in a robbery attempt that killed two and wounded more than ten others last December, a local procuratorate announced Saturday. Wang Haijian, Wang Wei and Wang An'an were indicted for endangering public security by the People's Procuratorate of Wuhan in central Hubei province before the city's Intermediate People's Court. The three were accused of setting off a homemade bomb in front of a branch of the state-owned China Construction Bank in Wuhan on Dec. 1, 2011, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said Wang Haijian had been making improvised explosive devices since October 2010 and was joined by the other two in plotting a bank robbery in July 2011. The homemade bomb, hidden on a section of pavement in front of the bank, was detonated when clerks were about to load money into a bank vehicle. The bombing killed two people on the spot and incurred financial losses of about 127,000 yuan (20,320 U.S. dollars), the prosecutors said. The suspects may face life in prison or even a death sentence under China's Criminal Law if they are convicted.