A senior political adviser in Jiangyan city, Jiangsu, was involved in what seems to be a fatal hit-and-run traffic accident over the weekend.
That has prompted questions about whether abuses of government power or resources are involved.
Chen Wenya , vice-chairman of the Jiangyan committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), was seen driving a car bearing a government plate around noon on Saturday.
The car later struck a young woman and her boyfriend, the Modern Express reported yesterday. She died after being sent to a hospital nearby.
Witnesses told the newspaper that the car had hit the duo from behind but did not stop. The woman was thrown forward and the car then drove over her, said a witness, a security guard.
He said the car did not stop until it hit an electric bicycle at an intersection. The driver then left the car and made several calls before being picked up by another car, said the security guard and another witness.
'He didn't even look at the victims or check whether she was dead,' the paper quoted a witness as saying.