Two die in violent clash over Chinese home demolition order
- Householder detained on suspicion of driving car into group of contractors hired by local authority to tear down his property
A demolition order that sparked violent clashes in eastern China in which two people were killed has reopened a debate about the practice of local authorities hiring private firms to tear down people’s homes.
Police in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, said they had arrested a man accused of driving his car into a crowd after he clashed with contractors earlier this week.
The force said on its Weibo account on Thursday that the householder, Wei Gang, and his former wife, Wang Qin, had tried to stop the contractors who had been hired by the authorities in Hangji town to demolish an “illegal” property that occupied a plot near the river.
The police said that Wei had tried to film workers from a local demolition firm tearing down the house, but the phone had been snatched out of his hands and thrown to the ground.
Wei is then accused of losing his temper and driving his car into the group, killing one person on the spot and injuring nine. One of the injured died later in hospital.
Wei was then dragged from the car and beaten up before police arrived.