-
Advertisement

Massacre 'sparked by graft frustration'

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
SCMP Reporter

A Shanxi villager who went berserk and massacred 14 people had been ignored for years over complaints about local corruption, a Guangzhou magazine reported.

Hu Wenhai, a former mine owner, and two accomplices were executed last month for the killing spree on October 26 in Dagukou village in Jinzhou city.

The Nanfeng Chuang magazine said in its latest issue that although Hu had been sentenced and executed, Public Security Minister Jia Chunwang recently commented on the case urging officers to reflect on why such violent crimes happen.

Advertisement

Hu Wenhai had a grudge against the former party boss of Dagukou, Hu Gansheng, whom he accused of embezzlement. Hu Wenhai had complained to anti-graft investigators for years but was ignored. The two men were not related.

The victims - eight men and six women - were party cadres who served under Hu Gansheng and their relatives. Hu Gansheng was seriously injured in the rampage. The report said Hu Wenhai decided to resort to violence after he was stabbed during a heated argument with village cadres in 1999. It said Hu Wenhai was convinced that his life was at risk and that he had to strike first.

Advertisement

The minister commended Shanxi police for solving the murders within two months, but lamented that the relationship between the Communist Party and the people had worsened.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x