VR technology used for first time in court testimony
A witness to a homicide on Thursday used virtual reality (VR) devices to help testify in a Beijing court, the Legal Evening News reported.
This is the first time 3D images and VR technologies were used in a Chinese court.
The witness, surnamed Dong, was asked to wear a pair of VR glasses and to control the handle to re-enact the crime scene at the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court Thursday. The prosecutors prepared a simulation of the company office where the witness' colleague, surnamed Liu, was stabbed to death in her office in September last year.
Prosecutors are accusing a 30-year-old man, surnamed Zhang, of stabbing 19-year-old Liu, who later bled to death. After allegedly committing the crime, Zhang stayed at the crime scene and was arrested at the scene by police. The report said Zhang and Liu had an "emotional entanglement."
In China, the most common tool used in court is PowerPoint, and photos used for evidence have to be inserted in the software which cannot be presented in high definition in court. Prosecutors cannot adjust or make remarks on the software, the report said.
Prosecutors said that advanced technology could conveniently present the original appearance of the evidence, and the new system will be promoted in all municipal prosecutors' offices.
