A senior official in northwest China has been detained for allegedly shooting a woman dead.

His excuse? He was boar hunting and thought the woman and her husband were pigs.

Lu Dugong, deputy Party secretary of Tacheng City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, reportedly shot the couple working in a melon field about 4 am on July 27.

Li Juan, 34, died at the scene. Her husband, Zhang Yuchuan, 37, survived but had to undergo major surgery, according to a Xinjiang newspaper.

Zhang lost his right kidney and part of his liver after the operation.

Lu invited guests from southwest China's Sichuan Province to hunt at a local scenic site on July 25. They set off about 11 am the next day carrying a rifle and bullets.

Lu shot a boar early on July 27 and planned to return home. When they passed Zhang's melon field, Lu shot at Li and Zhang.

A bullet passed straight through Li's body and hit Zhang, piercing his liver and kidney, the newspaper said.

Four officials, including Lu, surrendered to police.

Police officers and the director of Tacheng's wildlife protection office were reportedly involved in the incident.

Zhao Yuanzhou, the office director, had been detained, while Qi Hongbin, the head of Tacheng's forest police, had been suspended from duty and was under investigation, the newspaper said.

(Shanghai Daily August 4, 2008)