SHANGHAI, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- An unemployed Beijing man who killed six police and injured another four in a knife attack in Shanghai was sentenced to death at the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court on Monday.

    Yang Jia, 28, stabbed a security guard at the police branch in Zhabei District and started a fire at its gate at about 9:40 a.m. on July 1.

    He then forced his way into the building and attacked nine police officers, according to the prosecution. Six police died. Three others and the security guard were injured.

    Yang was apprehended at the scene and confessed to the killings, the prosecution said.

    The court ruled Yang had perfect capacity for criminal responsibility according to a forensic psychiatric assessment conducted by a qualified and specialized institute entrusted by the police. But it didn't give a specific name.

    The court revealed Yang turned down the defence lawyer his father had found for him before turning to Xie Youming and Xie Jin, two lawyers with Shanghai Mingjiang Law Office, that his mother had employed.

    The No. 2 division of the Shanghai Municipal People's Procuratorate alleged Yang was guilty of premeditated murder on July 17.

    The procuratorate said Yang was arrested by Shanghai police for riding an unlicensed bicycle on Oct. 15, 2007, and was taken in for interrogation.

    Yang later sued the officers for 10,000 yuan (1,464 U.S. dollars) in compensation for psychological damage. The claim was rejected by the local public security authority.