Communist Party to reopen death in custody case after police officer claims he was scapegoat
- Officer on trial for dereliction of duty tells court that his boss told him to take the fall over the suicide of a detainee
A Communist Party body in northern China is heading up an investigation into a police officer’s claim that a superior told him to take the fall for a suspect’s death in custody.
The political and legal affairs committee of Qingyuan district in Baoding, Hebei province, announced on Friday that it would look into the allegation after a report by The Beijing News that day.
According to the report, the police officer, identified only by his family name Yang, was being tried for dereliction of duty in Qingyuan District People’s Court last month when he submitted a recording of a conversation in which the boss allegedly tells Yang and an auxiliary officer to take full responsibility for the death of a suspected criminal.
In return, the superior, identified only as Chen, allegedly agreed to help clear Yang and the auxiliary, the report said.
“Let’s reach a common understanding that you two will take the responsibility,” Chen reportedly said.
The exchanged allegedly occurred after a man suspected of attempted rape committed suicide in his cell in March last year.
