Police investigate vendor's death

A vendor died on Wednesday in a clash with urban management officers in central China's Hunan Province.

Police are investigating the cause of his death.

PKG

INTRO

Deng Zhengjia, a farmer in his fifties in Liantang Village of Linwu County, died following verbal and physical conflicts with urban management workers on Wednesday morning.

The conflicts came after Deng and his wife tried to sell home-grown watermelons at a riverside scenic spot, where urban management workers said no vendors were allowed.

Deng's niece said he was hit by the weight from a set of scales, and his wife was also injured and is receiving treatment in hospital.

She said her aunt got bruises on her arms and legs, and passed out for a while.

SOUNDBITE(CHINESE): MS DENG, Deng Zhengjia's niece

"At the beginning, my uncle wasn't at the stall, he left to buy something. When he came back he saw some urban management workers removing his watermelons from the stall. My uncle tried to stop them, and they beat my uncle. Then my uncle and aunt went to another place where vendors are allowed, but those officers still chased them and tried to take their goods away, then the second conflict occurred. My aunt was stunned by them. When she woke up, she found my uncle was beaten to be unconscious."

China's urban management officers, or chengguan, are often criticised for their violent law enforcement methods for tackling low-level, urban, and non-criminal regulation violations.

Reports of urban management law enforcement units often appear in media amid accusations of chengguan officers beating vendors and smashing their stalls.

Equal, civilized, service-oriented and law-based enforcement by urban management workers is required to seek public understanding and help build beautiful cities.