2010-04-15 00:42

WUHAN: The drowning of a central China detainee in a 0.25-square-meter basin was an act of suicide, concluded provincial investigators Wednesday.

No signs of fight or struggle were found on Xue Hongfu's body or at the spot where he died. The other six inmates were minor offenders with no motives of harming or murdering Xue, according to a statement by a joint investigation team of the provincial police, forensic experts and judicial authorities.

Xue, 55, was found dead in the basin of the detention house yard in Gong'an County, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province on April 7.

The basin measured just 55 cm in length, 47 cm in width and 46 cm in depth.

"One can drown in a small basin? I want to try!" said a posting by "Jinju Guantou" on a forum of www.jinmeier.com.

Xue was detained on March 27 for stealing a bicycle from a supermarket. He was sentenced to 15 days in the detention center and fined 1,000 yuan ($147).

Xue's family had been present while coroners conducted an external examination of the body and they accepted the conclusion, the statement said.

Citing other online sources, a report on www.sina.com said Saturday that Xue's family went to the local funeral house and found bloodstains in Xue's mouth, ears and nose.

Postings on the Internet cast doubt on the official explanation of Xue's death and some speculated that local police had paid 300,000 yuan to Xue's family.

A deputy head of Gong'an County's public security bureau, warden of the detention house and the policeman on duty at the time of the suicide had been suspended on negligence of duty, the statement added.

Their names were not revealed.

Xue is the latest detainee death in China. In a separate case, a 52-year-old education official died on March 26 in a procuratorate in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Wei Jingling, an official with the education bureau in Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong City, committed suicide after becoming suspected of bribery. Murder was ruled out, police said Monday.

She sustained a fatal knife wound to the heart, police said.

Five procuratorate officials were suspended from their posts for not strictly following the procedures of the Supreme People's Procuratorate regarding the proper handling of suspects in custody, which led to Wei's death.