New regulations, in force from October 1, aim to protect the legal rights of suspects Mainland police officers will be held legally responsible for the deaths of detainees or people being interrogated, under regulations set to take effect on October 1. The Regulations on Continuing Interrogation, announced on the Ministry of Public Security website yesterday, are aimed at 'protecting the legal rights of detainees' amid widespread public calls to redress current detention loopholes. Police responsibility will extend to detainees who commit suicide. The move coincided with an appeal by the family of a former Jilin official, Wang Dawei , to have authorities look into his death during detention. Prosecution officials claimed Wang ran into a wall and died in detention before going on trial for alleged dereliction of duty, the Modern Express reported. Approved by Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang two weeks ago, the regulations set out the conditions under which people can be taken to police stations for questioning and the length of time they can be held. Under the existing law, promulgated in February 1995, police are required to release suspects after 24 hours of interrogation. If they want to hold a suspect longer, they must initiate a criminal detention period, which can last for 14 to 37 days. But the lack of detailed regulations has led to abuse of powers, such as prolonged detention and incidents where suspects reportedly commit suicide during detention, the ministry said. Police officers will be held responsible for deaths arising from lax management and illegal use of weapons and tools. Apart from bearing the legal responsibility, they will also be sacked and further disciplined. Further, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, teenagers under the age of 16 and people aged 70 or above cannot be interrogated for more than four hours at a time, and should not be taken to detention rooms. The rules also require police to ask the families or guardians of suspects to take them home if they discharge them between 9pm and 7am. If none are available, the police themselves will have to take suspects home. Song Mengqing , a lawyer based in Henan province , called the new regulation 'a step forward' even though it was unclear how thoroughly it would be implemented. 'To limit the power of the powerful institution is a protection of civil rights,' Mr Song said. The new regulation came amid calls for greater protection of civil rights at police stations after Sun Zhigang , a 27-year-old graphic designer, was beaten to death in a repatriation centre by fellow inmates in Guangzhou in March last year.