Chinese police officials under probe after allegedly assaulting journalists at 'secretive' luxury dinner
PUBLISHED : Monday, 26 January, 2015, 4:10pm
UPDATED : Monday, 26 January, 2015, 4:24pm
Chris Luo [email protected]
The diners are seen walking out of the seafood restaurant in this photo taken by Southern Metropolis Daily.
Three newspaper reporters who were in Shenzhen covertly investigating lavish banquets by public servants were allegedly assaulted by retired and current police officers after gate-crashing their event.
The journalists from Guangzhou’s Southern Metropolis Daily went to a Shenzhen seafood restaurant to follow up on a tip off that uniformed police were gathered there for an “opulent dinner”, the newspaper said today.
Passing themselves off as staff, the reporters managed to enter the dining hall and observe the goings-on.
A journalist was reportedly hit on the head.
Though the meal itself ended up costing less than 200 yuan (HK$251) per person and was paid for by a generous officer, the 28 guests were each given giant salamanders as a gift – considered a delicacy in China though strictly regulated by state laws.
Shortly before the police officers left, the reporters disclosed their identities and asked for comments.
“When the reporters revealed their identities and requested the diners for interviews, [one of the reporters was] assaulted and slapped in the face by the officials at the dinner,” the report said.
The officers also reportedly held a photographer in a chokehold and snatched a phone and camera from another reporter. Two of the three were mildly injured.
The journalists called up the police emergency number, but the arriving officers simply let the alleged assailants walk away, according to the Daily.
The Shenzhen Municipal Police Bureau said it launched a full investigation into the alleged attack. But it declined to disclose details when contacted by South China Morning Post on Monday, citing the investigation was still ongoing.
But the Daily‘s report quoted police bureau chief Li Chunsheng as saying that so far the investigation only confirmed the gathering was organised by a former police officer, who paid the bill for everyone.
Giant salamander is considered a delicacy in China though protected by state laws.
The Daily‘s own investigation found that 28 former and active officers attended the dinner, including a district police branch chief. Altogether they spent 5,400 yuan on the meal.
The giant salamanders, classified as a category-two state protected animals, can fetch as much as 2,000 yuan per kilogram in the market.
It also said that among the attackers was a veteran police officer who only retired recently.
Lavish government banquets have been banned outright by an austerity campaign launched by President Xi Jinping two years ago to limit bureaucratic spending and certain officials’ corrupt lifestyles.
Last year alone, the Communist Party uncovered 77,606 violations to the austerity campaign, leading to 133,000 officials being punished, according to the Central Committee for Disciplinary Inspection, the nation’s anti-corruption watchdog.
