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Thursday, 7 January 2010
Kunming officials butt of jokes over fallen bridge
Kunming officials have once again become the butt of jokes among the public for claiming the collapse of a bridge on the city’s new airport highway could be due to “weather, such as strong wind”.
Kunming officials butt of jokes over fallen bridge
Ng Tze-wei in Beijing 07 January 2010
Kunming officials have once again become the butt of jokes among the public for claiming the collapse of a bridge on the city’s new airport highway could be due to “weather, such as strong wind”.
The collapse of the unfinished bridge on Sunday, leading to the new airport in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, left seven workers dead and 34 others injured.
A representative of the state-owned China Yunnan Construction Company said: “At the time it was very windy and dusty. Whether this could have caused the collapse, only people at the scene would know.”
Blaming the weather naturally did not impress, but this is not the first time officials in Kunming have caused a public uproar.
Last month, the alleged suicide of a suspected thief, Xing Kun , in the interrogation room of Kunming’s Wuhua district police station drew widespread scepticism - especially when officers said the suspect unlocked his handcuffs with a one-yuan note and hung himself with two shoelaces.
There was no video clip of how Xing died because police said the suicide took place in a blind spot not covered by the surveillance camera. Officers held a press conference, demonstrating how their handcuffs could be unlocked in 20 seconds using a one-yuan note, and how two shoelaces 170cm long and 0.4cm thick could support the weight of a man.
Internet users poked fun at how the incident showed once again “money can do anything” in China and at the quality of made-in-China goods. Xing’s father said with disbelief that “if my son was so talented, he could have been a spy”.
Days later police could not unlock the handcuffs on a suspect in Chaling county, Hunan province, and had to get help from the fire department. They used everything from a saw to hydraulic scissors for more than 10 minutes before the handcuffs were released. Onlookers suggested the firemen and policemen should have used a one-yuan note.
Internet user Liaoheyu said: “The Heavenly Court announced: the suspect in the bridge collapse, the ‘weather’, used a yuan note to open his handcuffs and hung himself with shoelaces. Suspect dead. Case closed.”
Xing’s case is a reminder of the death of Li Qiaoming in February last year while in custody, also in Kunming. Police said he died of injuries sustained while playing hide-and-seek with his cellmates. It was later proved that he died after being tortured by his cellmates.
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Kunming officials butt of jokes over fallen bridge
Ng Tze-wei in Beijing
07 January 2010
Kunming officials have once again become the butt of jokes among the public for claiming the collapse of a bridge on the city’s new airport highway could be due to “weather, such as strong wind”.
The collapse of the unfinished bridge on Sunday, leading to the new airport in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, left seven workers dead and 34 others injured.
A representative of the state-owned China Yunnan Construction Company said: “At the time it was very windy and dusty. Whether this could have caused the collapse, only people at the scene would know.”
Blaming the weather naturally did not impress, but this is not the first time officials in Kunming have caused a public uproar.
Last month, the alleged suicide of a suspected thief, Xing Kun , in the interrogation room of Kunming’s Wuhua district police station drew widespread scepticism - especially when officers said the suspect unlocked his handcuffs with a one-yuan note and hung himself with two shoelaces.
There was no video clip of how Xing died because police said the suicide took place in a blind spot not covered by the surveillance camera. Officers held a press conference, demonstrating how their handcuffs could be unlocked in 20 seconds using a one-yuan note, and how two shoelaces 170cm long and 0.4cm thick could support the weight of a man.
Internet users poked fun at how the incident showed once again “money can do anything” in China and at the quality of made-in-China goods. Xing’s father said with disbelief that “if my son was so talented, he could have been a spy”.
Days later police could not unlock the handcuffs on a suspect in Chaling county, Hunan province, and had to get help from the fire department. They used everything from a saw to hydraulic scissors for more than 10 minutes before the handcuffs were released. Onlookers suggested the firemen and policemen should have used a one-yuan note.
Internet user Liaoheyu said: “The Heavenly Court announced: the suspect in the bridge collapse, the ‘weather’, used a yuan note to open his handcuffs and hung himself with shoelaces. Suspect dead. Case closed.”
Xing’s case is a reminder of the death of Li Qiaoming in February last year while in custody, also in Kunming. Police said he died of injuries sustained while playing hide-and-seek with his cellmates. It was later proved that he died after being tortured by his cellmates.
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