Society

Man accidently shot in scuffle in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-11 14:40

KUNMING- A man was accidentally shot when he and five fellow villagers attempted to grab a pistol from a policeman in Southwest China's Yunnan province Sunday evening, local police said Tuesday.

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Li Dihou, a 60-year-old resident of Yueya Village, Luquan County, was being treated at hospital and his injury was not life threatening, a spokesman of the public security bureau of Kunming, the provincial capital, told Xinhua.

The accident took place late Sunday afternoon following a dispute between villager Li Dizhao and a highway construction worker over water supply charges.

A township police station dispatched policeman Zhang Tianchen and two others to the scene after receiving calls for help from the worker. But they were assaulted by Li Dizhao's wife and four others, including Li Dihou, who demanded the police to hand over "the person who beat Li Dizhao".

Zhang, after failing to dissuade them from committing assault, took out his pistol to fire a warning shot. The villagers then attempted to grab the gun. During the scramble, the pistol accidentally discharged into Li Dihou's chest, the police said.

The police of Kunming were still investigating the case.