Chief officer detained over prosecutor's assault

By Chen Qian  |   2008-11-21  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A SENIOR police officer of the Qing'an County Public Security Bureau in Heilongjiang Province has been detained for allegedly hiring two people to attack the county's chief prosecutor.

Chief prosecutor Zhao Degui was attacked after four policemen were arrested for allegedly extorting confessions through torture and causing a suspect to die eight years ago, The Beijing News reported yesterday.

Zhang Guangfu, vice director of the bureau, was the boss of the four policemen, the newspaper said.

Zhao suffered a severe head injury after being assaulted on a busy street on August 31.

Wang Jing, a store owner, heard a noise and saw Zhao getting beaten by two young men, according to the report.

Wang called 110 but no one answered the phone. She then called first aid and an ambulance arrived after five minutes, the report said.

Wang talked with Zhao, who refused to reveal his identity at that time. Zhao later said he didn't dare reveal his identity because he was afraid of more attacks, the report said.

Police offered a 100,000- yuan (US$14,706) reward for information about the case.

The investigation team caught one of the men who beat Zhou, who admitted he was hired by Zhang to attack prosecutor Zhao.

Zhang since confessed he was angry that Zhao had caught his four policemen and that the prosecutor had disputes with his boss, the report said.

Three of Zhang's relatives, including his sister and nephew were also detained for their alleged involvement in the case.

The torture case involving the four policemen will be heard in court on Monday, according to the report.