Villagers fear police murdered petitioner
More details emerged yesterday of the suspicious death of a village chief who fought against illegal land requisitions, with villagers saying more than 1,000 police were deployed to retrieve his body after an angry stand-off with residents.
Qian Yunhui, the 53-year-old former chief of Zhaiqiao village in Yueqing , Zhejiang , was hit and killed by a heavy truck just a few hundred metres from his home on Christmas Day. His head and body were separated by the vehicle, driven by a man without a licence.
At a Yueqing police press conference on Sunday, Qian's death was attributed to a 'simple traffic accident' but many internet users believe he was murdered.
The Southern Metropolis News quoted villagers as saying that dozens of residents had tried to protect the scene of his death and refused to allow police to take Qian's body away, but the authorities quickly deployed more than 1,000 police, crushing their resistance.
'Villagers believed the police should investigate whether the hit-and-run death was a traffic accident or a murder case, and have refused to allow policemen to remove the body from the scene,' the newspaper said.
'More than 300 police with shields and electric batons were sent to the scene after villagers clashed with policemen and injured five officers. The police were soon reinforced to more than 1,000 within two hours and took Qian's body away.'
At least six witnesses who confronted police were detained. Villagers also said that Qian's daughter, younger brother and other relatives were taken away by police.
Meanwhile, China Business News quoted villagers as saying that Qian had been 'carried by four uniformed security guards and thrown in front of the heavy truck before it ran over and killed him'.
Yueqing police said the only surveillance camera there, installed on December 21, had failed to record the incident due to a technical problem.
Qian's relatives said he was found dead shortly after he received a call on his mobile phone and left home at about 8am. Before that, he spent two nights outside, fearing retaliation from the authorities because of his petitioning.
Yueqing police refused to reveal who made the last call to Qian.
Qian's death was one of the hottest topics among mainland internet users yesterday. Xinhua said more than 4 million internet users had read about Qian's death and 200,000 had commented. Some newspapers published editorials urging the authorities to deal with the matter.
The Economic Observer News said the fact that internet users overwhelmingly believed Qian was killed deliberately - and that government officials were involved - suggested that people no longer trusted the government or the judicial system.
Qian was detained in 2004, 2005 and 2008 for petitioning frequently about an illegal land grab that saw most of the village's farmland taken for a power plant with little compensation paid out.
In 2008, he was detained for two years after petitioning in Beijing and was released only in July this year.
It is said the central government told local authorities to prevent petitioners from coming to Beijing or other big cities to ensure social stability. Regional authorities often locked up petitioners. Mainland media say regional authorities have even 'outsourced' the black jails, which detain petitioners, to security companies.
All internet postings by Qian on the mainland's popular Tianya forum were deleted by censors on Monday night.
