Society

Police detain man for running down officials

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-18 21:30

WUHAN - Police have detained a man accused of running down 11 urban management officers with an SUV as they demolished his allegedly illegally built house in central China's Hubei Province.

Gong Zelin, 35, has been detained for endangering public safety after the Nissan SUV he was driving allegedly hit and injured 11 urban management officers on Tuesday.

The incident occurred while they were demolishing his four-storey house, which was among more than 80 illegal buildings in Houhu Village, Huangpi District, Wuhan City, the provincial capital of Hubei, said a spokesman for the district government.

Three of the 11 officers were seriously injured, but stable, said the spokesman.

Police apprehended Gong after the SUV crashed into a small mound, he said.

The district government Tuesday deployed more than 2,000 people from several government departments, including the bureaus of urban management, public security and land and resources, to demolish the allegedly illegal settlement in Houhu Village.

The villagers had not sought approval from the land and resources bureau to build the homes, said Liu Qingzhong, an official with the district's urban construction bureau.

"They were chasing fat profits as there was a big wholesale market nearby so they could lease rooms to workers there," he said.

Most of the villagers had other homes, he said.

The village was included in plans for a new development zone for which the land was required, said Liu.

"The villagers teamed up with some investors and built the buildings to seek huge compensation when the land is acquired," he said.