Lawyer in Hangzhou nanny arson trial comes under investigation

The lawyer of the nanny accused of killing four people in an arson attack in Hangzhou is under investigation after he walked out of court and disrupted the high-profile trial, reports Beijing Youth Daily.

Dang Linshan. [File photo: China National Radio]

Dang Linshan, an attorney with Guangdong Zeng Tai Law Firm, may face administrative punishiments for leaving the court hearing without permission, disturbing court procedures, and hyping up the case through social media, according to the Department of Justice of Guangdong Province.

Dang's client Mo Huanjing is alleged to have started the fire on June 22 that killed her employer, Zhu Xiaozhen, and three children, age 6, 8, and 11 in an apartment in downtown Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Mo's trial opened on Thursday at Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court. However, Dang raised an objection over the court's jurisdiction to hear the case. After his objection was rejected four times, he walked out of the hearing and the trial was suspended. 

The lawyers association in Guangdong said that Dang's behavior might have violated the rules of the All China Lawyers Association. The Guangdong branch of the Association has asked the lawyers association in Guangzhou City, where the law firm Dang works is located, to commence a formal investigation into Dang's potential violations.

(China Daily contributed to the story)