A forestry policeman shot the chief director of a county forestry bureau in the head on Sunday in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a newspaper reported today.

The victim, identified by the surname Qin, is still under emergency treatment and his life is in danger, according to Nanguo Daily.

The policeman has been arrested.

According to the report, the policeman, surnamed Li, rushed into the office of Qin, the chief director of Xing'an County Forestry Bureau, during a meeting and shot him in the head with a pistol.

Li fired a second shot at the bureau's deputy director after the deputy director tried to grab Li's gun.

The bullet hit the deputy director's mobile phone and ricocheted, causing no injury, the report said. Other people at the meeting then subdued Li before police arrived.

Qin, about 50 years old, has been the chief director of the bureau for more than 10 years after he retired from the army, the report cited insiders as saying.

The hospital refused to talk about Qin's condition and declined any visits, the report said.

The State Forestry Administration has sent officials to Xing'an County to investigate the case, the newspaper said.

The case occurred about two weeks after a former police bureau director in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region shot and killed two government officials on February 5, including a deputy city Party chief.

(Shanghai Daily February 20, 2008)