Out of control(2)

Hu's family, however, believed the death penalty was "too heavy."

"Is it too much to end his life for one misstep?" asked Hu's elder sister, who could barely control her tears and trembling hands.

"My little brother has always been a nice guy. Since he became a policeman, he worked so hard that he never spent one single Spring Festival with us," she said.

The lawyer also presented the court with an "agreement of understanding" drafted by the defendant and signed by the relatives of Wu, including her mother and brother.

"I beg the court and all of society to give him another chance," said Hu's sister.

However, thousands of Net users have supported the verdict and said Hu's crime was unforgivable as he took an innocent life with a weapon that was supposed to be used to protect public security.

Gun control arguments

Hu's case has sounded the alarm on firearms management and triggered debate over gun usage by China's often trigger-happy police.

In a series of previous cases where police shot ordinary people dead, most officers pulled the trigger after "being attacked upon alarm," including Zhang Lei, a policeman in Guizhou Province who shot two villagers dead in 2010 and was sentenced to eight years in prison, and Zhang Yan, a policeman in Liaoning Province who shot dead one in 2012 and was exonerated by the investigation.

While police are entitled to shoot if their personal safety is seriously threatened or after they have given a clear warning, observers said that both the police and the public lack of proper understanding of gun use, as many people would ignore the warning, and insufficient training of police means they often shoot early or unnecessarily.

Wei Yongzhong, a deputy dean of the School of Police Administration at the People's Public Security University of China, described China's gun-related laws and regulations as "not detailed enough."

"For instance, China has different kinds of police, but there are no detailed and strict rules about which of them are allowed to be armed with guns," said Wei.

After years of tight control on police usage of firearms to prevent misuse, the need for intensified training was brought up again by recent public safety threats like the Kunming terrorist attack in March, in which local police were alleged to have "failed" to tackle the criminals who were slashing people.

The Ministry of Public Security launched a special training plan on firearm usage in early April to all security forces in the country, especially those on "front-line patrol," to "strengthen their ability to handle incidents."

A policeman with the public security department in Guigang, who asked for anonymity, told the Xinhua News Agency that it's necessary for police to carry a gun when called, but the gun carrier needs to have passed legal examinations, training and have "real-world" experience.

Another officer in Northeast China's Jilin Province told the Global Times that they have an annual shooting training and test, but that their skills could get rusty after a while as they are busy with other work.

The training frequency should be increased and cover more kinds of police to enhance their familiarity and control of firearms, so that they can stop crimes without harming the public, said Wei.

Poor shooting skills and loose gun management could bring far more damage to public security than individual cases alone, Wang Hongwei, a professor with the School of Public Administration and Policy at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

Cases like the Kunming attack and Hu's can both push for better management and training on police gun usage, said Wang.

"Guns are not evil or good, it depends on the user and policemen should always improve their own abilities," he said.