Officers jailed over woman's death

Three police officers were sentenced to prison on Thursday for causing the death of a woman after a dispute on a construction site in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

The Taiyuan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang Wenjun to five years in prison for intentional injury and abuse of power; Guo Tiewei to 26 months in prison with a reprieve of three years for abuse of power; and Ren Haibo to 23 months in prison for intentional injury with a reprieve of two years.

According to the court, on Dec 13, 2014, four construction workers clashed with guards at the construction site where they worked after they were refused entry without ID and safety helmets.

When police arrived and tried to take the workers to their vehicle, they were confronted by Zhou Xiuyun, the victim and mother of one of the workers.

Wang grabbed Zhou's hair and forced her to sit and then lie on the ground, standing on her hair for 23 minutes, the court said.

After backup arrived, Zhou and the four construction workers were taken to the police station, where Guo and Ren beat the four male workers in rooms without cameras, the court said.

Paramedics were called to the police station to treat Zhou, but found she was already dead. Legal medical experts said the cause of her death was due to respiratory failure.

The case attracted wide attention after pictures circulated online appearing to show Wang stamping on her as she lay on the ground motionless.

(China Daily 11/11/2016 page4)