17 punished after Chinese demolition deaths

CHINESE state media said 17 officials and workers have been punished after two people died during the forced demolition of a building.

The official Xinhua News Agency said that a cement board had fallen from the illegally constructed building as it was being demolished on Friday in Renhuai city in south-west China’s Guizhou province, killing two workers and injuring three others.

Xinhua said yesterday that locals had carried the bodies to the city government building, prompting a disturbance. The news agency added that three officials were criminally detained for dereliction of duty, while five others were suspended, and nine workers involved in the demolition were detained.