Senior official suspended after death of lawmaker
By Zhang Xuanchen |
June 11, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SENIOR official of Lichuan City in central China's Hubei Province was suspended yesterday after 1,500 residents assembled in front of the government building following the sudden death of a local lawmaker.
The disciplinary watchdog of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which oversees Lichuan City, announced that Li Wei, the city's deputy Party secretary and head of the discipline section of the city's Party committee, had been suspended.
Li will be questioned over the death of Ran Jianxin, who died while being interrogated over corruption charges on June 4, reported Lc.news.com.cn, the official news website of Lichuan, yesterday.
Around 1,500 people assembled in front of the government building on Thursday morning. Some threw water, eggs and trash at police trying to prevent them from entering the building. It took local government hours to pacify and disperse the crowd.
Ran, 49, a deputy of the people's congress in Lichuan, died in the fourth day of custody by the procuratorate in Hubei's Badong County. He was put under investigation for allegedly taking bribes from construction contractors, said an official statement by Lichuan government yesterday.
Li Qing, a spokesman with Badong County, said Ran suddenly "collapsed" and was later pronounced dead in hospital. But his cousin claimed Ran died "unnaturally" as he saw wounds on the body.
The death was shrouded in more mystery after Ji Deping, an official with Badong County, said the surveillance camera recording Ran's interrogation "broke down" by chance. Video recording is required by law under such circumstances.
Nicknamed "Brother Ran," the lawmaker reportedly defended and protected impoverished residents when their illegal buildings were threatened to be demolished by the government in 2009.
Most residents were former farmers left jobless after their land was confiscated by the government in 2002.
Ran said they had no option but to live in unauthorized buildings and start unlicensed business and didn't carry out any forceful crackdown against them, despite warnings and criticism from higher-level officials including Li Wei, reported Southern Metropolis Daily earlier.
But Ran was entangled in corruption allegations and first put under investigation on November 13, last year.
More than 40 residents were questioned over Ran's corruption allegations, and some of them claimed that they were compelled to make false claims against Ran, according to the newspaper.
The disciplinary watchdog of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, which oversees Lichuan City, announced that Li Wei, the city's deputy Party secretary and head of the discipline section of the city's Party committee, had been suspended.
Li will be questioned over the death of Ran Jianxin, who died while being interrogated over corruption charges on June 4, reported Lc.news.com.cn, the official news website of Lichuan, yesterday.
Around 1,500 people assembled in front of the government building on Thursday morning. Some threw water, eggs and trash at police trying to prevent them from entering the building. It took local government hours to pacify and disperse the crowd.
Ran, 49, a deputy of the people's congress in Lichuan, died in the fourth day of custody by the procuratorate in Hubei's Badong County. He was put under investigation for allegedly taking bribes from construction contractors, said an official statement by Lichuan government yesterday.
Li Qing, a spokesman with Badong County, said Ran suddenly "collapsed" and was later pronounced dead in hospital. But his cousin claimed Ran died "unnaturally" as he saw wounds on the body.
The death was shrouded in more mystery after Ji Deping, an official with Badong County, said the surveillance camera recording Ran's interrogation "broke down" by chance. Video recording is required by law under such circumstances.
Nicknamed "Brother Ran," the lawmaker reportedly defended and protected impoverished residents when their illegal buildings were threatened to be demolished by the government in 2009.
Most residents were former farmers left jobless after their land was confiscated by the government in 2002.
Ran said they had no option but to live in unauthorized buildings and start unlicensed business and didn't carry out any forceful crackdown against them, despite warnings and criticism from higher-level officials including Li Wei, reported Southern Metropolis Daily earlier.
But Ran was entangled in corruption allegations and first put under investigation on November 13, last year.
More than 40 residents were questioned over Ran's corruption allegations, and some of them claimed that they were compelled to make false claims against Ran, according to the newspaper.
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