City workers beat man to death, court is told
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Xinhua, August 26, 2011
Three officers from a local city management bureau in northeast China's Liaoning Province stood trial Thursday over the beating death of a man who was attacked after trying to lay cement outside of his home.
Three officers from the city management bureau of the city of Liaoyang, including team leader Zhang Song and officers Liu Yi and Zheng Xiaoxi, were accused of intentional assault that led to the death of Zhou Xiaoming, a resident of the city's Hongwei District, the district procuratorate said.
The Hongwei District Court heard the case on Thursday but has yet to make a ruling.
The three suspects tried to stop Zhou from laying cement on the ground outside his home in the Longquan Residential Compound during a routine patrol of the community on May 3, according to the prosecution.
The suspects said Zhou came up to their van, questioned their order and hit Zhang with his shovel. Infuriated by his response, the officers jumped out of the van and attacked Zhou.
During the fight, Zhang hit Zhou in the head, knocking him unconscious. Zhou died later after his family sent him to a local hospital. Medical experts from China Medical University confirmed that he died of a heart attack triggered by agitation and physical assault.
Zhou's son Zhou Yang said that he tried to stop the fight, warning the officers that his father had a history of heart disease. Prosecutors stated that Zhou Xiaoming also showed the officers his scar from a previous surgical operation during the fight.
City management officers, or "chengguan" in Chinese, operate in all Chinese cities. Their primary responsibilities include patrolling communities to deter illegal streetside vendors, illegal cabs and unauthorized construction projects. The officers have sometimes been criticized by Chinese citizens for their heavy-handed law enforcement tactics.
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