A Beijing court has given a roadside vendor who stabbed and
killed an urban management officer last year a suspended death
sentence.
Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday found
23-year-old Cui Yingjie, a farmer from Fuping County of Hebei Province in northern China, guilty of
intentionally killing Li Zhiqiang in Haidian District on August 11
last year.
The case has stirred up a controversy about the sometimes
aggressive methods of street inspectors.
On a midsummer's day in the Zhongguancun area, Li and several
other officers tried to confiscate the tricycle from which Cui sold
grilled sausages without a license.
Cui grabbed a fruit knife and slit 36-year-old Li Zhiqiang's
throat with it after his tricycle was seized. After 11 hours on the
run, Cui was captured in Tianjin.
The court found that Cui used force to interfere with the
officers' attempts to carry out their duties and was guilty of
manslaughter. Cui pleaded guilty to his crime.
But, after taking the circumstances of the case and its social
ramifications into consideration, the court decided not to sentence
Cui to immediate death.
The case has generated a lot of public discussion about urban
management methods.
Urban management officers have long been criticized for their
arbitrary and sometimes crude enforcement methods, and conflict
with street peddlers is frequent.
Cai Dingjian, a professor at China University of Politics and
Law, said the case highlights the emotions that regulation
enforcement methods can provoke.
He said the case also raised the question of how to protect the
rights of the underprivileged migrant population in cities while
also preserving law and order.
He suggested China study other countries' practices of
designating certain areas for vendors, or open up night bazaars and
weekend markets.
Some Chinese cities have started changing their approach to
hawkers. For example, Shanghai has announced it will allow street
vendors to operate in certain areas.
The Beijing municipal government is drafting a regulation to
spell out the duties, powers and methods of urban management
officers.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2007)