The trial of a young man accused of setting off a home-made explosive device out the front of a busy shopping mall in the vicinity of Beijing's Dongzhimen transport hub in October last year, began in Beijing on Wednesday.

The blast, which slightly injured a passing American student, was set off by the 22-year old Lei Sen as he stood only 10 meters away.

Lei told the court how he had placed the device in the shrubbery next to the sidewalk out the front of the Ginza Mall and waited for someone to come along before detonating it.

When asked why he has chosen to let the bomb off in Dongzhimen, Lei responded that "at the time my target was foreigners ... I also don't know why, but if I was to go after foreingers, over in Dongzhimen they have a lot of them."

The court also heard how Lei Sen had unsuccesfully attempted to let off a similar explosive device in the Xizhimen area a few days before the Dongzhimen incident.

During today's court proceedings, Lei said that due to problems occuring in his own life, he had begun to think about ways in which he could "get revenge" on society. He also repeatedly emphasized his psychological problems, though he also remarked on how he had been unable to afford treatment.

The prosecution argue that Lei Sen is simply introverted, reclusive and not good at communicating with others and held therefore his mental state had nothing to do with the case.

Lei's lawyer told the Beijing Evening News reported that his client faced a prison term of between 3 and 10 years or even longer if the incident was considered "extremely serious" by the court.

Links and Sources
Beijing Evening News: 東直門爆炸案今天開審 嫌犯強(qiáng)調(diào)自己有心理問題 (Chinese)