Tragic death of policeman seeking to end labor dispute

Wang Xiangqian, a 50-year-old police officer working at the Expo Park in Pudong, died on Tuesday afternoon after being injured trying to prevent six workers jumping off a building at the end of last month.

The workers were threatening to jump off a building from a height of about 20 meters over a salary dispute.

Wang climbed up a fragile ladder to reach them but fell down when he had climbed halfway, hitting the back of his head on the ground.

He was in a coma due to his heavy brain injuries, but subsequently lost his battle for life.

The tragedy happened at Yunhao Golf Restaurant, a River Mall business located in the iconic Expo Axis area, at the crossroads of Shangnan and Bocheng roads around midday on July 24.

Wang was about to take his noontime break when he received a call from the manager of the restaurant who told him that some employees were climbing onto the rooftop and could cause a scene.

Wang left the police station on his own to attend to the matter.

Zhang Fan, the manager, told Shanghai Daily that the policeman decided to climb up the ladder after the workers refused to come down.

The ladder, used by workers in reparation work at the restaurant, was actually two ladders combined into one and wasn’t steady, Zhang recalled.

“When I asked him not to climb it, he simply said, ‘Who else would do it,’ and then stepped on it,” Zhang said. “Those were the last words he spoke.”

Unfortunately, the ladder was leaning against a sign that suddenly fell off, causing the ladder to collapse and Wang to fall.

Jiang Jing, Wang’s colleague at the Expo Park Police Station, said Wang didn’t have to take on the workers by himself. “He could have called the firefighters to come and help,” he said.

Colleagues remember Wang as a courageous and confident police officer, very much dedicated to his work.

“If he believed he could handle something himself, he wouldn’t bother others,” said Zheng Zhiming, a close friend who has known Wang for nine years.

The workers said later they weren’t intending to jump off as they had threatened.