Alleged killer ends his life in a marsh

By Li Xinran  |   2008-12-26  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A MAN who allegedly stabbed to death a public official has committed suicide in Hubei Province.

The body of the suspected killer, who was identified as Ni, was discovered in a marsh outside a medical school in Tianmen City, the Changjiang Times reported yesterday.

Ni allegedly stabbed Xu Jirong, 50, director of the landscape bureau in Tianmen City, in the neck and chest in his office on Tuesday due to a dispute over the leasing of a fish pond.

Ni reportedly leased an area in a lake from the landscape bureau to run an aquaculture business, but the bureau decided to terminate the agreement next year, the report said, citing an unidentified insider.

The bureau planned to build a park beside the lake and relocate all the fish ponds.

Villagers who had leased ponds in the lake were reportedly angry and had disputes with the bureau over compensation, the newspaper said.

However, the bureau said the majority of people in Tianmen asked the government to get rid of the fish ponds to make space for a park. The city government also planned to use the lake as part of its drainage system, the report said.

The city government has provided 3.3 million yuan (US$481,550) in total compensation to fish pond lease holders and given them unemployment and medical insurance usually reserved for urban residents, according to the bureau.

Ni was reportedly the only wage earner in his family.

Two of his brothers died of cancer while his another brother is paralyzed. Ni left behind a wife and daughter. He once made money from the fish pond and a transport business.

Ni allegedly entered Xu's office about 3pm and the official was heard screaming immediately afterward, the newspaper said.