Head of Tongling Nonferrous Metals commits suicide from 'work stress'

Mainland authorities are investigating the death of the head of Tongling Nonferrous Metals, the country's second-largest copper smelter, after he jumped from a building, the company said.

Wei Jianghong, who was also chief executive of the state-owned firm, died on Tuesday morning, Tongling said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

"Preliminary investigations by authorities, which included surveillance videos on site and interviews with relevant personnel, suggests Wei Jianghong committed suicide due to immense work-related stress and long-term insomnia," the company said in a separate statement.

His death comes after a number of high-profile suspected suicides of executives from large state-owned firms since President Xi Jinping launched a campaign against graft last year.

The state-run China Business News said Wei, 52, who was also a National People's Congress deputy, jumped from a hotel owned by the company in Tongling, Anhui.

Bai Zhongren, the former president of China Railway Group, fell to his death in January, following a corruption probe into the now-defunct railway ministry. The former chairman of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Sanjing Pharmaceutical, Liu Zhanbin, also died in a similar manner in May while being investigated for corruption.