Officials punished for 5 boys' deaths in dumpster

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Eight Bijie City officials were suspended or sacked from their positions after five boys died from carbon monoxide when they were left alone inside a dumpster and used the charcoal for heat.

Of the officials punished for their mismanagement were two deputy mayors in Qixingguan District, Tang Xingquan and Gao Shoujun, according to the Bijie City Committee of the Communist Party of China in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

The five children, aged between nine and 13, were found dead, along with the remains of burned charcoal, inside a litter bin last Friday. They were cousins of a local family surnamed Tao, Xinhua News Agency reported today.

It drizzled on Thursday night and the temperature went as low as 6 degrees Celsius, according to the local weather reports. The boys have hanged around for long time but received no help.

Tao Jinyou, one of the boys' father, said five children didn't show up for three weeks after they went out to play and parents and school teachers couldn't get any clues about their whereabouts.

Four had quitted school due to their poor performance, another sad father Tao Yuanwu said.

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