Chinese authorities sack, detain 3 police officers after reporter beating
- Reporter was attacked by plain-clothes officers in Guizhou as he was investigating two local deaths
- Authorities investigate and offer public apology after incident sparked anger on social media
Three police officers in the southwestern province of Guizhou have been removed from duty and detained after being accused of beating up a reporter who had been investigating a deadly accident, local authorities said on Thursday.
A statement on the Bijie municipal government website said one of the men was a local police station deputy, while the other two were auxiliary police officers.
“We sincerely accept the criticism of the community and apologise to the reporter, to the news media and to society,” it said.
According to the statement, the journalist, surnamed Li, had been assigned to cover a story about an accident that killed two teachers for Jimu News, an online media outlet affiliated with the official Hubei Daily.
While in the town of Machang on Monday, Li noticed that he was being followed and started recording video. After approaching the vehicle, the three men inside the car – who were not wearing police uniforms and did not identify themselves – started to beat Li and tried to stop him from recording. Li suffered facial injuries, and his mobile phone and glasses were damaged, the statement said.