Work halted after fire tragedy
By Ni Yinbin |
April 25, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A COURT in central China's Hunan Province yesterday suspended a house demolition following the owner setting himself alight in protest.
Hetang District People's Court of Zhuzhou City said compensation was the core of the conflict and work would be halted until an agreement was reached.
Wang Jiazheng, 58, suffered burns to 78 percent of his body and damage to lungs, liver and spleen, his daughter Wang Haiyan said.
He also suffered several broken bones when he fell off the roof of his house. He is in a critical condition, breathing with the help of a respirator.
"There were more than 100 people breaking into my house and dragging out my mother and sister-in-law, leaving my 8-month-old nephew on the ground," Wang Haiyan told The Beijing News. "My father was forced to light himself when the digging machine was approaching the house."
The incident began at about 5am on Friday when members of a demolition crew broke into Wang's house and ejected his wife and daughter-in-law, who had been asleep. Wang and his son, who had left for work, rushed back home.
They climbed onto the roof to stage their protest.
At about 8:40am, seeing the digging machine approaching, Wang poured gasoline over himself and ignited it in a desperate attempt to prevent the demolition. In flames, Wang fell from the roof. He was rushed to hospital.
Neighbors captured the incident on video and uploaded it to the Internet.
The court was told the digging machine had been sent in to bring loose soil to reduce injury in case Wang fell off the two-story house. Officials said Wang had appeared out of control and had slipped.
The land in Hengshi Village of Zhuzhou is being used for the development of a professional education center. Since 2009, 268 households have been relocated with 410 houses demolished. However, 10 households, including Wang's, still had to be demolished and this had delayed the project, the court said.
The court heard that the family had rejected compensation of about 350,000 yuan (US$53,791) for their 600 square meter house.
Average real estate prices in the city are about 3,820 yuan per square meter.
Hetang District People's Court of Zhuzhou City said compensation was the core of the conflict and work would be halted until an agreement was reached.
Wang Jiazheng, 58, suffered burns to 78 percent of his body and damage to lungs, liver and spleen, his daughter Wang Haiyan said.
He also suffered several broken bones when he fell off the roof of his house. He is in a critical condition, breathing with the help of a respirator.
"There were more than 100 people breaking into my house and dragging out my mother and sister-in-law, leaving my 8-month-old nephew on the ground," Wang Haiyan told The Beijing News. "My father was forced to light himself when the digging machine was approaching the house."
The incident began at about 5am on Friday when members of a demolition crew broke into Wang's house and ejected his wife and daughter-in-law, who had been asleep. Wang and his son, who had left for work, rushed back home.
They climbed onto the roof to stage their protest.
At about 8:40am, seeing the digging machine approaching, Wang poured gasoline over himself and ignited it in a desperate attempt to prevent the demolition. In flames, Wang fell from the roof. He was rushed to hospital.
Neighbors captured the incident on video and uploaded it to the Internet.
The court was told the digging machine had been sent in to bring loose soil to reduce injury in case Wang fell off the two-story house. Officials said Wang had appeared out of control and had slipped.
The land in Hengshi Village of Zhuzhou is being used for the development of a professional education center. Since 2009, 268 households have been relocated with 410 houses demolished. However, 10 households, including Wang's, still had to be demolished and this had delayed the project, the court said.
The court heard that the family had rejected compensation of about 350,000 yuan (US$53,791) for their 600 square meter house.
Average real estate prices in the city are about 3,820 yuan per square meter.
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