Detainee drowning in small basin is 'suicide'
By Echo Wang |
April 16, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SEVEN-day probe into a bicycle-thief's death in a detention house concluded that the inmate committed suicide by drowning himself in a wash basin, police said on Wednesday.
The Public Security Bureau of Hubei Province said top forensic analysts in the central province confirmed that Xue Hongfu, 55, drowned himself in a 46-centimeter deep basin in the Gong'an County detention house on March 7.
The investigation team said they ruled out accident or murder because Xue was unlikely to fall into the 0.12-cubic-meter basin at the corner of a yard and none of Xue's cell mates were violent, said Chen Jie, the spokesman of the county's police.
Chen also said Xue "appeared suicidal" after he was detained, as "he smoke more cigarettes and eat less," Xinhua news agency reported.
The explanation stoked new public uproar amid a series of bizarre deaths of detainees. The Ministry of Public Security launched a campaign to prevent unnatural deaths in detention houses.
"Why would someone commit suicide only for such minor offenses as stealing a bike?" asked an Internet user on 163.com.
Xue was only detained for 15 days and fined 1,000 yuan (US$146.5). He was to be released in three days before he died.
"Xue must be the most skillful and strong-willed suicider ever," said another commentator, "drowning oneself in a basin was like committing suicide by holding your breath."
There were no video cameras in the detention house to capture what happened. The police said the conclusion was based solely on pictures of Xue's body. The most important evidence of all, the body, was cremated the second day after he died.
Xue's family has been strangely quiet about his death and the county police insisted that Xue's family "willingly cremated the body" after reaching an "agreement with the police."
An earlier report said police paid the family 300,000 yuan to keep quiet, but Chen said he was not aware of the money, without directly denying it.
The Public Security Bureau of Hubei Province said top forensic analysts in the central province confirmed that Xue Hongfu, 55, drowned himself in a 46-centimeter deep basin in the Gong'an County detention house on March 7.
The investigation team said they ruled out accident or murder because Xue was unlikely to fall into the 0.12-cubic-meter basin at the corner of a yard and none of Xue's cell mates were violent, said Chen Jie, the spokesman of the county's police.
Chen also said Xue "appeared suicidal" after he was detained, as "he smoke more cigarettes and eat less," Xinhua news agency reported.
The explanation stoked new public uproar amid a series of bizarre deaths of detainees. The Ministry of Public Security launched a campaign to prevent unnatural deaths in detention houses.
"Why would someone commit suicide only for such minor offenses as stealing a bike?" asked an Internet user on 163.com.
Xue was only detained for 15 days and fined 1,000 yuan (US$146.5). He was to be released in three days before he died.
"Xue must be the most skillful and strong-willed suicider ever," said another commentator, "drowning oneself in a basin was like committing suicide by holding your breath."
There were no video cameras in the detention house to capture what happened. The police said the conclusion was based solely on pictures of Xue's body. The most important evidence of all, the body, was cremated the second day after he died.
Xue's family has been strangely quiet about his death and the county police insisted that Xue's family "willingly cremated the body" after reaching an "agreement with the police."
An earlier report said police paid the family 300,000 yuan to keep quiet, but Chen said he was not aware of the money, without directly denying it.
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