Tests reveal how woman in row with police died
Print Edition
A WOMAN who died after a dispute with police officers at a construction site in north China did so from acute respiratory failure, according to a forensic report.
Zhou Xiuyun, 47, died in hospital on December 13. She had also suffered a fractured neck, Xinhua news agency said yesterday, citing prosecutors in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province.
Prosecutors have approved the arrests of three policemen and a police assistant for their roles in the death of the migrant woman.
Wang Wenjun and Guo Tiewei, officers at the Longcheng Police Station in Taiyuan, and their assistant Ren Haibo have been charged with battery, prosecutors in Taiyuan told Xinhua.
Another officer, Yan Dongxi, deputy chief of the police station, was arrested on charges of dereliction of duty, Xinhua said.
The police station chief and three other officials have been sacked or disciplined, and eight police assistants sacked.
The incident began with a quarrel between Zhou’s son Wang Kuilin and security guards at the construction site in the provincial capital. Wang had tried to walk through the site but was prevented from doing so as he was not wearing a safety helmet.
As the dispute intensified, a crowd gathered, which included Zhou and her husband Wang Youzhi.
The police were called and four officers arrived at the scene at 5:05pm and began questioning the workers. When one of them refused to cooperate, the dispute became violent.
In video footage taken from a security camera, police chest-mounted cameras and witnesses’ mobile phones and released this week on China Central Television, Zhou is seen arguing with officer Wang Wenjun.
As he tries to handcuff her, Zhou is heard to shout: “I will not lose my hands.”
The policeman is heard shouting: “Keep the surveillance camera on and record how they beat the police.”
He is also seen pulling Zhou’s hair and pushing her to the floor, then standing on her head to keep her down.
The CCTV report said Zhou was held down in this way for 23 minutes.
For much of the time she was motionless.
When police reinforcements arrived, Zhou, her husband and son were taken to Longcheng Police Station. Zhou was later taken to Ronghua Hospital where she fell unconscious and was pronounced dead at 7:50pm.
Wang Youzhi said he and his wife were held in different cells at the police station, and when he called to her she did not answer, the CCTV report said.
“Officers woke me up at 3am and told me she was dead,” he said.
Wang Youzhi suffered six broken ribs after being kicked in the chest by police officers, the report said, adding that another worker, named Li Kang, was also assaulted by police.
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