Society

China peasant dies in police custody

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-24 13:35

DALIAN - A peasant in northeast China's Liaoning Province died in police custody Tuesday, a few hours after he was detained on suspicion of theft, local authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Yu Xueshuang, 46, was detained by policemen in Pulandian, a county level city in the suburbs of Dalian, at 3 pm, the public security bureau in Pulandian said in a press release.

It said Yu had "a fit of muscle twitches" during the interrogation, and policemen fed him nitroglycerin pills they found in his pocket before they called an ambulance.

Yu did not respond to emergency treatment and died at hospital at around 7 pm, it said.

At least 100 residents, including Yu's family members, friends and neighbors, rallied outside the hospital Wednesday morning, voicing anger and suspicion and demanding an explanation.

One of the interrogators confessed the surveillance camera lens was off during the interrogation, which was against the rule and intensified public suspicion over what actually caused the suspect's death.

Public security officials in Dalian refused to comment on the incident in a telephone interview with Xinhua Wednesday, saying the city's procuratorate had launched an investigation.