Police in Henan province yesterday made a public apology for failing to detect a sex-slave scandal which has sparked a panic over public safety.
Guo Congbin, director of the public security bureau of Luoyang city in Henan, told a press conference that four district police officials had been suspended from duty for negligence, Xinhua reported.
The scandal erupted on Thursday when the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis News reported that a quality-control worker had kept six young women locked in his basement as sex slaves for almost two years and had killed two of them.
Guo admitted the scandal indicated community safety patrols were too weak and that police officers had lost their sense of responsibility.
'As police chief, I bear responsibility,' Guo was quoted by Xinhua as saying. He said a city-wide crackdown would clean up beauty parlours, karaoke halls, saunas and internet cafes, and an 'online cleansing' campaign against pornography would leave no 'dirty spots'.
'I beg the people of Luoyang to give us another chance. We will show you the results of our actions.'