Saturday 28 February 2009

Officials Probe Deadly Game in Yunnan Jail

Prosecutors may file charges following the death of an inmate four days after a game of tag triggered a jailhouse scuffle.

1 comment:

Guanyu said...

Officials Probe Deadly Game in Yunnan Jail

Prosecutors may file charges following the death of an inmate four days after a game of tag triggered a jailhouse scuffle.

Caijing
27 February 2009

Prosecutors in Yunnan Province are investigating what was initially identified as an accidental death in a jailhouse that happened while inmates were playing a game of tag, the official Xinhua news agency said February 25.

A report is expected soon about possible charges linked to the death of inmate Li Qiaoming in Jinning County, where a chief prosecutor has launched a probe, said a spokesman for the provincial public security bureau.

The spokesman said: “the case is currently being investigated by the Kunming People’s Procuratorate and supervised by the Yunnan Provincial People’s Procuratorate, while the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also sent a team for the investigation.”

According to a local police report February 20, Li and other suspects being held in a detention cell were playing a game when fighting erupted. Li was badly hurt and later died in hospital.

The death was initially labelled an accident by police and the local procuratorate.

The report said Li, an inmate surnamed Pu and nine others were playing the game in the county jail’s cell No. 9 on the evening of February 8.

Pu was tagged by a blindfolded Li but refused to follow the rules by donning the blindfold, saying the game hadn’t started. Investigators say Pu kicked Li in the chest and belly, and then hit him on the left side of the head. Li, who was still blindfolded, lost balance and hit a doorframe with his forehead.

A police officer was quickly informed, and Li was whisked off to hospital with a severe head wound. Eventually he was transferred to Kunming No. 1 Hospital, where he died four days after the incident.

Local police reported the case to high-level police officials and the prosecutor.