Police chief held over DUI deaths
By Zhao Wen |
October 31, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A township police chief in Henan Province has been arrested for allegedly killing five people and injuring three others in a drunk-driving road accident that triggered a riot over arriving officers' improper handling of the case, authorities said yesterday.
Wang Yinpeng, head of the police station in Liangzhu Township in Runan County, has been charged with endangering public security by dangerous means, the county's publicity department said.
The accident happened around 2:40pm on Saturday when Wang was driving a police car under the influence of alcohol and suddenly lost control, running into two street lamp poles at a crossroad near the county's bus station.
Witnesses said the police car crashed into a crowd of people and made a U-turn. The poles fell on pedestrians and caused the deaths.
Police said five people were killed in the accident - four at the scene and one en route to hospital. The three injured were in stable condition. The victims were reportedly migrant laborers waiting to board a bus heading for Zhejiang Province.
Three of the five dead were from one family, namely Ma Feng, his wife Zhang Yuhong and his mother Wu Xiaohua.
Wang was suspected of drunk driving.
An investigation by police and prosecutors has been launched.
After the accident, gathered onlookers were apparently dissatisfied with the police who arrived at the scene to deal with the accident, according to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily.
They claimed officers sent to the site didn't intend to inspect the scene but just called two minibuses to take away the four dead victims.
In anger, the crowd started damaging the police cars and the minibuses, which were overtuned on the street, the report said.
The accident also triggered a public outcry on Weibo.com, China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service, after pictures posted on the site showed gruesome scenes in the aftermath of the crash.
In recent years, fatal car accidents in China have fuelled public outcry and calls for stricter penalties.
In June 2009, Zhang Mingbao, a Jiangsu Province driver, was jailed for life after his car mounted a crowded pavement, killing five people.
Wang Yinpeng, head of the police station in Liangzhu Township in Runan County, has been charged with endangering public security by dangerous means, the county's publicity department said.
The accident happened around 2:40pm on Saturday when Wang was driving a police car under the influence of alcohol and suddenly lost control, running into two street lamp poles at a crossroad near the county's bus station.
Witnesses said the police car crashed into a crowd of people and made a U-turn. The poles fell on pedestrians and caused the deaths.
Police said five people were killed in the accident - four at the scene and one en route to hospital. The three injured were in stable condition. The victims were reportedly migrant laborers waiting to board a bus heading for Zhejiang Province.
Three of the five dead were from one family, namely Ma Feng, his wife Zhang Yuhong and his mother Wu Xiaohua.
Wang was suspected of drunk driving.
An investigation by police and prosecutors has been launched.
After the accident, gathered onlookers were apparently dissatisfied with the police who arrived at the scene to deal with the accident, according to a report by the Southern Metropolis Daily.
They claimed officers sent to the site didn't intend to inspect the scene but just called two minibuses to take away the four dead victims.
In anger, the crowd started damaging the police cars and the minibuses, which were overtuned on the street, the report said.
The accident also triggered a public outcry on Weibo.com, China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service, after pictures posted on the site showed gruesome scenes in the aftermath of the crash.
In recent years, fatal car accidents in China have fuelled public outcry and calls for stricter penalties.
In June 2009, Zhang Mingbao, a Jiangsu Province driver, was jailed for life after his car mounted a crowded pavement, killing five people.
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