Summer Palace tightens security after US tourist stabbed to death

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-8-12  |     ONLINE EDITION

POLICE in Beijing launched spot safety checks on tourists at the Summer Palace after one American was killed and another was injured in a stabbing attack last week.

According to Beijing's Haiding District Public Security Bureau, officers as well as park staff will conduct spot checks at seven gates at the popular tourist attraction.

Officers may check individuals' belongings, question tourists and search for suspicous articles with special devices.

The police notice says cigarette lighters, contraband knives and flammable materials are banned from being taken into the Summer Palace.

A 47-year-old Chinese man attacked relatives of a US men's volleyball coach at the palace on Saturday. Tang Yongming, the assailant, then leapt 40-meters to his death from a balcony on the Drum Tower.

Todd Bachman, 62, was killed in the attack while his wife Barbara was seriously injured. She is being treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.