China’s cold case playground murder nets 19 officials in corruption cover-up
- Family of man who went missing in 2003 vindicated after new investigation confirms their claims that he was killed for making corruption allegations at school
- Police officers and senior officials among those found to have covered up the crime
Nineteen officials in China’s central Hunan province – including 11 from the police force and six from the county government – have been sacked or are waiting to be charged for their roles in covering up a murder 16 years ago.
The remains of Deng Shiping, who was 53 when he disappeared in 2003, were uncovered in June this year, buried beneath a playground at Xinhuang No 1 Middle School in Huaihua city.
The find was a vindication for Deng’s family who have campaigned for an investigation ever since he went missing after making allegations of corruption about a building project at the school. Despite reporting his disappearance and their suspicions about the project’s contractor Du Shaoping – the last person seen with Deng – no action was taken by police.
The breakthrough came in April when the family appealed to an inspection team which had arrived in Hunan as part of a national crackdown on organised crime and the “protection umbrellas” of corrupt officials who turn a blind eye.
In June, Du confessed to the murder while in detention for other, unrelated, offences and both he and his foreman Luo Guangzhong were prosecuted for the crime.