A gavel in a court. [Photo/IC]

THE OWNER of a construction company in Malong county in Southwest China's Yunnan province, walked through six provinces protesting that the local government owes him 3.3 million yuan ($497,000) for constructing a school. He was given 10 days in detention by local police for "defaming" the Malong government and "severely disturbing the public order". Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

It remains unclear whether the construction company owner is really owed that much money by the school. Likewise, although he stopped in public places and displayed banners highlighting his situation, it is unclear whether he disturbed the public order.

One thing is clear, though, the local government does owe him a large amount of money that has accumulated over eight years, despite his repeated requests for payment.

He has reportedly sent letters to the local authorities and received written responses suggesting he approached relevant departments for help. Yet his demands for payment remain unanswered as no one cares to solve his problem and he is passed from one department to another.

Highlighting the issue in this way may be an overreaction, but the local government is to blame for this, because it should have paid the money it owed him in the first place.

In other words, he would not have gone to this extreme if his requests for payment had not been ignored time and time again. That being the case, it is the Malong government that is in the wrong, not the other way round.

For most local governments, 3.3 million yuan should be affordable.

Abuse of power in such a way damages public trust in local governance and the government's image too. Putting the man in detention is unlikely to be a solution, what the Malong government should do is pay him the money it owes him and apologize in a sincere manner.