Monday, June 22, 2009

Mysterious death sparks 70,000 to protest in China’s Hubei Province

Corruption, torture, and murder charged by Shishou City residents

By Zhou Meihua (Epoch Times - 20 Jun, 2009)

The mysterious cause of the death of a young man who fell from the third floor of a hotel in China's Hubei province on Wednesday has prompted as many as 70,000 people to attempt to bar the police from taking the young man's body away.

Local authorities have mobilized thousands of riot police to cope with the chaos. The public's reaction appears to have been sparked by outrage at what is believed to be a case of corruption, torture, and murder.

Around 3 p.m. on June 20 a Public Security Office statement was released on the official Web site of Shishou City that says the corpse of a man was discovered in front of the entrance of the local Yonglong Grand Hotel on June 17.

The deceased was the hotel's 24-year-old chef Tu Yuangao, who the statement says had left a letter expressing his pessimism and decision to commit suicide. The preliminary medical examination, according to the statement, sees no other fatal wounds on the body and has ruled out the possibility of murder.

According to the statement, the police's attempt to remove the body for autopsy has been rejected by the man's relatives, adding that many people who do not know the true story have gathered around the hotel, jammed traffic, and caused much commotion.
Eyewitness Reports
Eyewitnesses are raising serious doubts about the credibility of the police account.

According to China's bloggers, those who witnessed the fall of the man and reported it to the police said they did not see any blood stain on the ground where the body landed. Instead, they found blood clots around the deceased's mouth, nose, and ears. The lower part of body showed signs of severe torture, they said.

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Photos taken by civilians also available here.

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