Society

Motorcyclist 'dies' twice after crash; doctor probed

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-18 16:17

CHENGDU: Police are investigating how a road accident victim came to be declared dead twice -- on occasions more than six hours apart -- in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Zhang Houming, 46, was declared dead at the scene by a doctor after his motorcycle and a bus collided at 2 p.m. on January 8 in Neijiang city, and his body was sent to a funeral home where his relatives discovered his heart was still beating.

Zhang later died at 8:15 p.m. while receiving treatment at the Neijiang No.6 People's Hospital.

Shi Ling, a doctor of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Neijiang City, who declared Zhang dead the first time, had been suspended from duty pending an investigation.

Neijiang Municipal Public Health Bureau had submitted all the information on the case to the municipal police bureau, which was investigating, said Lin Wu, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Neijiang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

An autopsy was conducted on January 9 by Sichuan Qiushi expert testimony institute, which was still analyzing the findings, said Lin.

The autopsy results were expected to be known later this month or early February, said Lin.