Society
Former chief prosecutor jumps to death
By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-06 09:40
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GUANGZHOU: A former chief prosecutor in Maoming, a city in South China's Guangdong province, jumped to his death from the eighth floor of a residential building in Zhanjiang on Friday, the police said.
"Anxiety over his health" may have led Liu Xianjin, former chief of the Maoming Municipal People's Procuratorate, to take the extreme step, they said.
The police received a report at about 5 am that Liu was found lying dead near an apartment building in Chikan district of the city, neighboring Maoming.
"He was not murdered," said a police officer on condition of anonymity. "Family members told us he had health problems and sleep issues after returning to Zhanjiang," he added.
Liu, born in Lianjiang county of Zhanjiang in 1951, was given a new position as deputy director of Zhanjiang municipal political consultative conference committee early last month soon after he quit the chief procurator's post.
Liu served as deputy chief of Zhanjiang Public Security Bureau between 1993 and 2005.
Liu's son had gotten married just a day before the incident.
"He (Liu) was ready to take the new position in Zhanjiang. We are investigating why he took the extreme step so suddenly," the police said.
Sources in the Maoming city government said Liu's death had "nothing to do with a recent anti-corruption campaign" that led to the arrest of several local officials at the end of last year.
The campaign was launched by the Maoming city procuratorate in June 2007, two years after Liu took office.
Several Chinese officials committed suicide last year, triggering public concerns.
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Wugang government said Yang, 47, first cut his wrist with a knife before leaping off the third floor of his office. He was reportedly suffering from depression.
"There were some officials who could not bear the workload, leading to depression and health problems. So they committed suicide," said He Rihui, a doctor at the armed police hospital of Guangdong province.
Others also ended their lives after being linked with corruption scandals.
Wu Xiaoqing, a former judge in Chongqing, hanged himself at a detention house where he was lodged on suspicion of taking bribes in November last year.
"In many cases, the local government tried to keep the suicides secret, without explaining reasons," He said.
The doctor urged authorities to reveal the real causes of the suicides.
"Officials are public servants and the public has the right to know why they ended their lives," He said.
