2 indicted in sensational school playground murder case in Hunan
The school playground where the body of a maintenance worker, who had disappeared 16 years ago, was dug up following the arrest of two men earlier this year.
Two men have been charged with the murder of a worker whose body was found buried under a school playground in central China’s Hunan Province after 16 years. Prosecutors have filed a case against 13 alleged gang members — though only two were said to have been directly involved in the killing, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local authorities on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, 19 officials involved in the case have been punished for preventing a proper investigation at the time.
In April, police in Huaihua's Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County announced the capture of a gang led by Du Shaoping. They encouraged the public to report any crime committed by the gang, according to Xinhua.
In May, Huaihua police found that Du was linked to the disappearance of Deng Shiping, a former maintenance worker at Xinhuang No. 1 Middle School, who went missing in January 2003.
Following statements from Du and one of the gang members Luo Guangzhong, police dug out a corpse from under the school playground on June 20 and a DNA tests confirmed it was Deng.
Deng’s case made national headlines because of reports that police had harbored suspects and failed to investigate his disappearance at the time, prompting Hunan authorities to launch an investigation and vow to target officials who served as “protective shields and nets” for the gang.
Police said an investigation showed that Du, then a laid-off worker, was given a contract to build the school playground in 2001 and hired Luo and others for the job. During construction, Du had a disagreement with Deng, who was supervising the quality and safety of the project. It is alleged that he, along with Luo, killed Deng and buried his body under the playground on January 22, 2003.
Following their arrest, Du and Luo are said to have confessed and both have been charged with murder.
The then school principal Huang Bingsong, who was Du’s uncle, tried to cover up the crime by soliciting help or using his personal connections with civil servants and offering them bribes.
Yang Jun, then deputy Party secretary of the Xinhuang County Public Security Bureau, a former classmate of Du’s, and other officials agreed to help. They interfered with, misled and obstructed the investigation, resulting in the case remaining unsolved.
A total of 19 officials involved in the case received Party disciplinary or administrative penalties. Among them, 10 have been arrested and transferred to procurators for investigation and prosecution.
Huang was expelled from the Communist Party of China and his retirement benefits were withdrawn for colluding with Yang and others to prevent Du from facing justice and bending the law for selfish ends, despite the knowledge of Du’s alleged crime. He was transferred to judicial authorities for suspected criminal involvement.
Yang was also expelled from the Party as well as from public office and transferred to procurators for suspected criminal involvement.
Police said that, from 2008, a mafia-style gang led by Du ran loan scams, collected debts with violence, organized gang fights and committed other crimes in the towns of Huangzhou and Fuluo.
China launched a three-year nationwide campaign to crack down on criminal gangs in January last year.
