Driver who crushed protesting Chinese village chief to death released early

A truck driver jailed for crushing a Chinese village chief to death in a case that inspired a film by dissident artist Ai Weiwei has been released early, media said Tuesday.

The death of Qian Yunhui, 53, raised suspicions that he had been murdered for campaigning over land seizures in the eastern province of Zhejiang, and the Global Times said that local residents had “suspected foul play”.

Fei Liangyu was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in February 2011.

But his sentence was reduced because of “good behaviour” and he was released on June 24, said the Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily.

It did not give further details or explain the delay in the news coming to light.

Ai, an internationally renowned avant-garde artist, made a 102-minute film about the incident earlier this year, using footage of the site of the death and interviews with villagers and others about the case. “Most of the evidence is in the government’s hands so you can never really have the full picture of the truth in China in most cases,” Ai told AFP by phone Tuesday.