A village chief was beaten after five villagers stated that they did not receive earthquake relief subsidies. From the Associated Press:
Farmers in earthquake-devastated southwest China beat a village chief and clashed with police this week after they claimed they were cheated out of quake relief subsidies, state media said.
Wednesday’s clash in Anxian county — one of the hardest-hit areas from last May’s quake — left an unspecified number of farmers and police injured and calm was restored after 100 police were brought in, the official Xinhua News Agency said late Friday.
Xinhua reported that tensions flared after five villagers said they were denied subsidies and beat the head of Yongquan village. After some of the farmers were detained for the beating, 20 more villagers then surrounded the local police station.
Xinhua details more of the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In the quarrel, five villagers, led by Yi Jianqiong and her husband Wang Daisen, claimed that they did not receive the quake-relief subsidies. But Zhou Lujin said he had handed the money to Yi’s father. The five then beat the village chief, the official said.
He said Zhou Lujin suffered multiple injuries.
“Nobody died in the incident on Wednesday,” he noted. “The death of Wang Changyuan, father of Wang Qiongfang, one of the detainees, had nothing to do with the incident,” Zhou Baoquan [Anxian County publicity official] said.
