Officials jailed for beating man to death

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-11-11  |     ONLINE EDITION

FOUR officials were jailed from three to six years for their roles in the death of a man who was filming their clash with villagers in Tianmen City, Hubei Province.

Qianjiang City People’s Court ruled that Sun Daibang, the team leader in charge of discipline inspection of the city's Urban Administration Bureau, was mostly to blame for the man’s death on January 7. He was sentenced to six years for manslaughter, Beijing News reported today.

The three other officials were among dozens of urban management officers who beat Wei Wenhua to death.

Xiong Wei, former director of Tianmen Sanitation Bureau, was handed a five-year sentence, as was Yan Zhiming, who worked at Tianmen Urban Administration Bureau. Hu Luohong, another employee of Tianmen Urban Administration Bureau, was given three years behind bars.

On January 7, farmers protested to officials who planned to dump rubbish on their land. Wei, 41, general manager of a Tianmen construction firm, was nearby and started recording the clash on his cell phone.

Once the officials realized they were being recorded, more than 20 urban administration officers started beating Wei. The beating triggered a heart attack, which killed Wei, according to the court’s verdict.

Sun issued the order for the others to take Wei’s cell phone and did not stop his subordinates from attacking the victim. But he later conducted medical treatment to Wei and surrendered to police, the court said.

The three other defendants were all involved in beating Wei. However, Xiong and Yan had retracted their testimony in court. Hu reported other crimes while in custody, so he was given a lenient sentence, the court said, according to the report.