Opinion | Police footage of Beijing migrant worker moments before 'suicide' sparks cover-up claims
Mystery over different clothing in official police surveillance video
Police surveillance footage said to show a young migrant worker moments before she fell to her death has sparked accusations of a cover-up after she appeared to be wearing different clothing to that photographed by witnesses at the scene.
Migrant worker Yuan Liya died on May 2 when she fell to her death from a mall in Beijing's Fengtai district, where she worked on afternoons. At the time, rumours spread that she had been raped by security guards before she plunged to her death. Police denied this and said the 22-year-old from Anhui province had committed suicide but they initially refused to release surveillance footage of her entering the building.
Immediately after the video footage, which claims to show her walking to the window where she allegedly jumped, was broadcast on Friday, doubts emerged over its authenticity.
In the video footage, she is seen wearing a white skirt, but photos taken of her body when she was found the next morning show her wearing a dark-coloured or black skirt. The news report did not explain the contradiction.