A vice-magistrate in a Sichuan county has become the target of online anger after reportedly being photographed wearing Italian shoes valued at above 5,000 yuan (HK$6,100) while performing inspection work.
A news portal for Hunan province, Voc.com.cn, reported on Wednesday that Liao Weizhong of Shuangliu county was wearing Ferragamo shoes. It cited a post in one of its forums showing two photos of Liao in the shoes, with one of him at a muddy construction site.
The online outcry was swift on forums and microblogs. Some Web users found the shoes sold for as much as 8,000 yuan on the mainland.
In response to the public anger, the Shuangliu publicity department posted a link on its official microblog that night pointing to an interview with Liao on Chengdu's official news portal, Chengdu.cn.
Liao was quoted by the website as saying the shoes were a gift from his wife two to three years ago and cost about 4,000 yuan. He said his wife of 24 years bought him the pair in Chengdu on his birthday.
He said the photos were taken around the Lunar New Year, and guessed that they had been put online because he had 'refused unreasonable demands from enterprises and therefore suffered retaliation.'