A publicity officer of a county in Sichuan Province that was leveled by the May 12 earthquake hanged himself at his home Monday, the local public security authority said, citing a preliminary investigation.

Talking about his son in an interview, Feng Xiang was choked with sobs. [dzwww.com]

Feng Xiang, vice director of the publicity department of Beichuan, a county devastated by the May 12 earthquake last year, was found dead in his house at about 2 a.m., officers at Beichuan's public security bureau said.

Feng, 33, saw his 8-year-old son killed in the earthquake. He worked hard in the disaster-relief work following the quake and was promoted to his present post in June.

In December Feng attended a training course at Jinggang Mountain in Jiangxi Province for officials who had been involved in post-quake reconstruction. The training course included post-disaster mental health assistance.

But in his last blog article, timed at 00.53 in the early hours of Monday, April 20, he said he felt it was too painful to continue living. (Read Feng's last blog entry at http://user.qzone.qq.com/719161691)

In his final entry he asked his brother to take care of their parents, asked his wife not to feel sad, asked his father not to cry, asked his mother not to feel sad and let him rest in peace, and asked his friends not to grieve.

"I will come to you and be together with you forever," he wrote, addressing his dead son, "please believe in a father's deepest love for you."

He also thanked the thousands of the Internet users who cared about him.

"If I were to go to heaven, I would pray for you all to have a life without pain," he wrote to Chinese netizens, after saying his life was painful and hard, and that his existence was a threat to enemies, whom he did not name.

Thousands of Internet users have already posted their condolences on his blog.

Feng was interested in literature and had published a number of articles in magazines and on the Web.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2009)