A Chinese man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for severely assaulting a fellow citizen for driving a Japanese car during last year's anti-Japan protests, in what is described as "patriotic" violence.
The court of Xi'an's Lianhu District upheld evidence that Cai Yang used a motorcycle lock to pound the head of Toyota Corolla owner Li Jianli when he tried to stop Cai from smashing his car.
A video of Cai's assault went viral on China's social networking sites, sparking public outcry against the so-called "patriotic" violence that broke out during a wave of demonstrations against Japan's "nationalisation" of the disputed islands, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The defendant was also ordered to pay about 258,000 yuan (USD 42,000) in compensation to the victim.
China last year witnessed anti-Japanese protests in many places over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands dispute with Japan.
Several Chinese attacked Japanese firms during September last year besides demonstrating near the Japanese embassy here.
