Headstrong chengguan cause of trouble

URBAN PATROL officers in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, have faced a storm of public fury after they removed a ladder while workers were still on the roof of a building, and one of the workers died after falling while trying to leave the building using a rope. Legal Daily commented on Wednesday:

In the face of the criticism the local law enforcement bureau has responded by saying the chengguan were doing their duty by taking away the tools being used to do an act in violation of the regulation as the workers were putting up an unapproved sign for a business site.

But that argument does not hold water as the Administrative Penalty Law prescribes seizing evidence only if it might be hard to obtain a later date or is at risk of being accidentally or deliberately destroyed.