The family of a street vendor who is suspected to have been beaten to death by city management officers in a Southwest China city has allowed police to do an autopsy after a protest on Wednesday morning, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
On Tuesday hundreds of protesters gathered on Zhong-huanan Street in downtown Anshun, Guizhou Province, accusing city management staff of beating the vendor.
Police said about 30 protestors and 10 policemen suffered injuries in the protest, Xihua said.
The vendor has been identified as Deng Qiguo, a 52-year-old man with a disability. He died around 1:47 pm Tuesday after having a dispute with city management staff, according to a government spokesman.
Protestors said they were angry the one-legged man had been beaten by the officers.
According to messages published online, witnesses on Sina Weibo, a microblogging platform, city management officers were driving away vendors on Zhonghuanan Street around 1 pm Tuesday. Because the crippled man walked slowly, he was caught by officers. At first, two officers beat him and then three more officers joined in. A woman tried to stop the beating and was injured too.
When an ambulance arrived, the man was confirmed dead.
Nearly a thousand people took part in the protest. The mob turned over and destroyed their vehicle, the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News reported on Wednesday.
An online photo showed police using high-pressure water guns to disperse protesters.
Hundreds of people gathered on the both sides of the 400 meter stretch of pavement until on Wednesday morning with police lines keeping them off of the site, the newspaper said.
Deng’s elder brother, Deng Qichang, consented to the autopsy and asked police to seek justice.
Police are questioning six city management staff members involved in the case. Police said the autopsy results will be announced upon completion.
Messages circulating on Weibo said that Deng was a veteran of the Chinese army and lost his right leg in the war with Vietnam in 1979. He has two seven-year-old kids.
Global Times