The teenage son of two well-known military singers pleaded not guilty to gang rape on Wednesday, claiming he was drunk on the night in question and did not have sexual relations with the female plaintiff.

Li Tianyi, the 17-year-old son of Li Shuangjiang and Meng Ge, both prominent PLA singers, is charged with taking part in the gang-rape of a woman, along with another four suspects, in a hotel after a night of drinking in Beijing's Haidian district on Feb 17. He was detained on Feb 20, according to previous reports.

The case was heard in the district people's court on Wednesday from 9:30 am to 6:45 pm, attracting many journalists.

The woman, 23, was not present at the opening day of the trial, which is due to continue on Thursday.

The Beijing High People's Court said via its micro blog that the first day of the trial focused on collecting evidence and hearing opinions from the defendants and prosecutors.

The case is not a public hearing because it involves minors, whose privacy must be protected by law.

During the trial, Li was questioned about the alleged gang rape and said he was sleepy that night because he had been drinking, Beijing News quoted an insider as saying on Wednesday.

Neither the court nor the lawyers involved confirmed Li had made that statement.

Meng Ge, Li's mother, arrived at the court at 9:10 am, but she did not answer any questions.

The high-profile case has been hotly debated for more than six months and has caused much controversy.

Beijing Haidian District People's Procuratorate learned of the case on May 6, but it was only on July 4 that it required the police to make supplementary investigations.

Between May and July, Li's original lawyer quit the case. The police also revealed the parents of the other four suspects were not from prominent backgrounds. On July 8, the prosecuting authority charged the five suspects with rape.

The public discussion did not end with news of the prosecution, as lawyers representing both the suspects and the woman started releasing statements about the case online.

Before Wednesday's trial, the court held two meetings for the parties, at which they disagreed on whether it was a gang-rape or a case of prostitution.

Li's mother applied to make the trial a public hearing via her lawyer, Lan He, but the motion was refused by the court.

Chen Shu, Li's new lawyer, insisted his client was innocent and cast doubt on the woman's profession, claiming she was a "hostess", or prostitute.

Last week, Tian Canjun, the woman's lawyer, said his client is under great psychological stress and has been hospitalized in the capital, adding she would not participate in the trial.

Lan said online before the trial he hoped the court would identify the woman, "because there are too many saying things about her profession and the confirmation of that will be helpful to clarify the facts".

The suspect Li is the second child of Li Shuangjiang. This case is not his first brush with the law.

At the age of 15, Li and a friend, driving expensive cars without licenses, attacked a couple that allegedly stood in their way and scoffed at onlookers about calling the police. He was sentenced to one year in a juvenile correctional facility.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 08/29/2013 page4)