Four drug addicts have been arrested in the southern Chinese
city of Shenzhen for allegedly beating another addict to death in a
police-run rehabilitation center.
The killing occurred on Oct. 31 at the drug rehabilitation
center affiliated to the Bao'an District Branch of the Shenzhen
Municipal Public Security Bureau, said a spokesman with the
Shenzhen Municipal Procuratorate.
The police branch reported the case to the procuratorate on Nov.
8 and the procuratorate immediately sent forensic doctors to
identify the cause of the victim's death, the spokesman said.
Forensic doctors found the victim's ribs were broken. They
believed the victim, who had pneumonia, died of heart and lung
failure caused by "outside force of blunt objects", the spokesman
said.
The procuratorate has sent staff to the Bao'an police branch to
investigate the case, he said.
"So far, we haven't found any staff members of the center were
involved in the incident, but we're investigating whether there was
any dereliction of duty," he said.
The spokesman did not provide further details.
Local media reported Wednesday that the victim was Luo Haigang,
25, a migrant worker from central China's Hunan province, who had
worked in Shenzhen for more than five years. He was sent by police
to the Bao'an rehabilitation center on Oct. 12 for a six-month
compulsory treatment.
There was no indication on how long Luo had been an addict.
A police spokesman was quoted by the Southern Metropolitan
News as saying that police officers at the center were
informed by Luo's roommates on the night of Oct. 31 that Luo had
suddenly fallen ill, and they immediately sent Luo to the center's
clinic and then transferred him to a hospital.
"Emergency treatment lasted about one hour, but failed to save
his life," the spokesman said.
The police notified Luo's relatives on Dec. 7 that four drug
addicts at the center had beaten Luo, which led to his death, and
the four suspects had been detained, according to the
newspaper.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2007)