Mayor's suicide continues trend
By Wang Xiang |
April 9, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE mayor of a southeast China city committed suicide yesterday by jumping from a government building.
Officials in Fujian Province confirmed Zhang Guosheng's early-morning death.
Zhang, the mayor of Putian, jumped about 8:30am after he scrambled out of a toilet window on the fifth floor, according to a statement released by the information office of the city yesterday afternoon.
He died later in hospital.
Rumors quickly spread that an informant tipped off Zhang, saying he would soon be investigated by the city's Party disciplinary watchdog, and that prompted him to commit suicide, according to locally based news Website taihainet.com.
Putian officials were furious over the leak and said it was up to the government to decide when to let the public know about inquiry results.
Zhang was last seen in public on April 2 and officials working with him said he "appeared normal" earlier yesterday.
Zhang served as head of Fujian Provincial Department of Oceans and Fisheries from 2003 to 2006. The Putian People's Congress elected him as mayor in 2007.
Another township head, Fan Zhiqiang, in Fujian's Shouning County, was found dead in his dormitory yesterday morning, Xiao Xiang Morning Post reported.
A county official said Fan hanged himself.
He said the police were investigating whether it was a murder or suicide and there was no evidence to link the two deaths.
More than 20 suicides have been reported among China's officials since 2009.
Their deaths have fueled speculation they were "sacrifices" to prevent investigations of other corrupt officials.
Zhen Lifu, 51, a senior political adviser in Jiangmen City, of south China's Guangdong Province, was found dead after hanging himself near his home on March 20.
The local government said Zhen had long suffered from "insomnia and depression."
On March 8, Liu Xiaofeng, 49, head of the local audit office of Ongniud Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, jumped from the eighth floor of his office building.
Local government sources said Liu was severely depressed but did not elaborate.
Officials in Fujian Province confirmed Zhang Guosheng's early-morning death.
Zhang, the mayor of Putian, jumped about 8:30am after he scrambled out of a toilet window on the fifth floor, according to a statement released by the information office of the city yesterday afternoon.
He died later in hospital.
Rumors quickly spread that an informant tipped off Zhang, saying he would soon be investigated by the city's Party disciplinary watchdog, and that prompted him to commit suicide, according to locally based news Website taihainet.com.
Putian officials were furious over the leak and said it was up to the government to decide when to let the public know about inquiry results.
Zhang was last seen in public on April 2 and officials working with him said he "appeared normal" earlier yesterday.
Zhang served as head of Fujian Provincial Department of Oceans and Fisheries from 2003 to 2006. The Putian People's Congress elected him as mayor in 2007.
Another township head, Fan Zhiqiang, in Fujian's Shouning County, was found dead in his dormitory yesterday morning, Xiao Xiang Morning Post reported.
A county official said Fan hanged himself.
He said the police were investigating whether it was a murder or suicide and there was no evidence to link the two deaths.
More than 20 suicides have been reported among China's officials since 2009.
Their deaths have fueled speculation they were "sacrifices" to prevent investigations of other corrupt officials.
Zhen Lifu, 51, a senior political adviser in Jiangmen City, of south China's Guangdong Province, was found dead after hanging himself near his home on March 20.
The local government said Zhen had long suffered from "insomnia and depression."
On March 8, Liu Xiaofeng, 49, head of the local audit office of Ongniud Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, jumped from the eighth floor of his office building.
Local government sources said Liu was severely depressed but did not elaborate.
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