A man sentenced to death for the murder of a 2-year-old girl has lodged an appeal with a higher court, claiming that he did not kill the child intentionally, Beijing News reported on Wednesday.

Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Han Lei, 39, grabbed the child from a stroller and threw her to the ground on July 23, causing her death from head injuries two days later. He was sentenced to death on Sept 25.

The incident occurred in the capital's Daxing district after Han argued with the child's mother in the street.

However, Han claims that he did not throw the child to the ground deliberately. He claims that he was too drunk at the time to realize what he was doing.

Han's lawyer handed the new appeal to the court on Tuesday afternoon.