Food meant for Sichuan quake victims found rotting in storeroom - six years later
Local official in trouble over apparent cover-up attempt, as party chief explains away mouldy stockpile as relief-operation rejects
Piles of relief goods meant for victims of the Sichuan earthquake six years ago have been found rotting in a storeroom, sparking anger at a local party chief who has been accused of trying to cover up the find.
The mouldy, foul-smelling piles of food, clothes and other materials were found hidden in a storeroom near the village office of Sichuan’s Santai county, near Mianyang city, after residents complained of a bad smell.
Santai county is about 150 kilometres from Wenchuan, the epicentre of the 7.9-magnitude quake that killed 87,449 people. Levelling entire villages, collapsing schools and buildings and damaging homes and farmland, it was China’s most devastating earthquake in more than three decades.
When county employees found the source of the odour, they were surprised to find the storeroom half-filled with sacks of rotten rice weighing 225kg, instant noodles, biscuits and expired bottled water, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
The report said the cache was found last Wednesday and officials were immediately asked to investigate.
Guo Fangping, party secretary of Xinsheng village, rushed to the site and ordered onlookers to leave. He sent for cars and workers from a neighbouring area to clear away the goods.