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A Beijing rock star denied he was the mastermind behind a deadly fight involving hundreds of gangsters that left one person dead and several injured.

More than a year after his arrest, 45-year-old Zang Tianshuo appeared at Beijing second intermediate people's court yesterday. He said he was innocent of organizing the 2003 brawl, the Beijing Evening News reported.

It's alleged the fight was linked to a business dispute between a bar co-owned by Zang and 44-year-old co-accused Lu Changchun and competitor Sun Baohe.

The two sides are alleged to have assembled more than 100 gang members to fight near Hebei's Langfang railway station on June 21, 2003.

However, Zang yesterday told the court that he only learned about the fight the day after the fight. Zang said he did not tell his employees to attack people, but to settle the dispute, the newspaper reported.

But co-accused Lu, who has been charged with organizing several gang fights in Beijing and nearby Hebei province, said Zang was lying.

"If talking works, just talk; if talking fails, beat them," Lu alleged Zang had said.

Beijing-based media earlier reported that Zang's so-called "gang" was also involved in another fight in eastern Beijing last year, but no casualties were reported.

The court did not announce a verdict as of press time yesterday. Local media quoted law experts saying Zang could face years in prison.

Lu first said that Zang was the mastermind of the bar fight after his arrest in Jilin province earlier last year.

Zang was later arrested in September after he was found to have provided a hiding place for Lu.

As one of China's first rock musicians, Zang was voted the most popular mainland singer at one of China's top music awards in 2003.

Beijing's stars have recently been linked to a number of crimes.

World-acclaimed director Zhang Yuan, as well as singers Xie Dong and Man Wenjun, have been arrested for possession or use of drugs.

Actor Zhou Jie was also in court last month after a hit-and-run crash in which his Mercedes Benz vehicle smashed into a taxi. The taxi flipped on its side and the taxi driver and two passengers were injured.

（英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nancy Matos is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Nancy is a graduate of the Broadcast Journalism and Media program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Her journalism career in broadcast and print has taken her around the world from New York to Portugal and now Beijing. Nancy is happy to make the move to China and join the China Daily team.