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7 officials in criminal probe after truck owner attempts suicide over fines
Online Edition
SEVEN traffic officials in Yongcheng city in Henan Province in central China are under criminal investigation after a truck owner tried to kill herself over fines for overloaded trucks even though she said she’d already paid fees to resolve the problem.
Seventeen other officials have been either fired or demoted for dereliction of duty, according to a provincial government statement.
Liu Wenli, who owns two trucks, drank pesticide on November 14 after local authorities insisted on fining her though she said she had paid “overload fees.” Her brother, Liu Huaizhou, claimed she had paid an annual fee of 3,000 yuan (US$495) to the local transportation authority and the same sum in monthly fees to the road authority, Xinhua news agency reported.
Liu Wenli, with only 300 yuan in her pocket, begged officials from the two departments not to fine her, but they refused, her brother said. Liu Wenli threatened to commit suicide but an official told her, “Your death is none of our business. Even if you die, we won’t let you go,” said Guo Wanli, a driver for Liu Wenli.
The truck owner stepped away and got a bottle of pesticide, which she drank while the officials were waiting for her.
Her hands and legs were shaking after she drank the pesticide, but the road patrol officials refused to take her to the hospital, Liu Huaizhou said. An ambulance was called to take her to a hospital and she survived, he said.
The case has sparked an outcry among netizens. Many criticized the numerous fees and fines on roads and urged reforms in road management systems.
An investigation found that local traffic officials had violated rules and exceeded their powers to deal with the case. Also, they were found to be in dereliction of their duty for not taking Liu Wenli to the hospital in a timely fashion.
The provincial government also confirmed that some officials charged monthly fees to ignore overloading. The city government was told to examine its practices in light of the management oversight.
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