Lei Yang's family accuses police for misleading public opinion

Public pressure and suspicions over the death of Lei Yang in the capital over the weekend are mounting, prompted by differing police accounts of the arrest and a lack of an explanation over how the man died.

On the evening of May 11,2016, Lei Yang’s family made the following announcement on China’s microblogging site Weibo:

“The Changping Procuratorate, where we have been to many times, has intervened and launched a investigation. Beijing Changping districtpolice, as the party involved in this case, should wait until the final results from the investigation of Changping Procuratorate, rather than making explanation everywhere andmisleading the public opinion.”

According to Caixin, Beijing Changping district police made the announcement that at thenight of May 7, they apprehended six people at a foot massage place; all of whom were suspected of soliciting prostitution.

When the law enforcement officers were transportingLei back to the station for investigation, Lei tried to resist and escape. Subsequently, policehad taken coercive measures. During the transportation, Lei suddenly felt unwell. Thepolice rushed him to the hospital. Lei died after all the rescue measures were provenineffectual.

The woman who provided sex service at the foot massage place said was interviewed,saying that Lei did receive hand job she gave to him.

Chen Youxi, an attorney, believes that the Beijing Changping district police should excuseitself in the role of investigator in the case. Not only should the autopsy be conducted bythe third party, all the evidence, surveillance footages, and witnesses should be under thecontrol of a separate investigation group formed by procuratorate and police station fromother regions.

With regard to the report from police and the sex worker’s testimony, “firstly, it isinappropriate to publish the video now. With the investigation ongoing, the police cannotbe aired on TV regarding the case. Secondly, the woman’s testimony is not totallytrustworthy. She is now in the hands of the Changping police, so it is entirely possible thather words could have been manipulated,” Chen said.

(PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE)