Harassed courier sets fire to himself, grabs policeman

A man in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, set fire to himself with gasoline before grappling a police officer on Saturday while preventing the police from confiscating his electric three-wheeler, according to the local public security bureau. Both are now receiving medical treatment.

Tangshan Public Security Bureau said in the statement Saturday evening that the suspect surnamed Guo, a courier from the Tiantian Express Delivery Tangshan subsidiary, was disrupting public service while he drove the vehicle, which is forbidden in the center of the city.

According to the statement, Guo, 53, has been punished many times for driving his vehicle on the road. He had prepared to immolate himself and attack others out of rage at his treatment.

As of 10:45 am, Guo drove to the intersections of Beixin Road and Xueyuan Road, where electric three-wheelers are banned and was thus intercepted by the police.

But Guo refused to turn in the vehicle, and poured the contents of a plastic bottle of gasoline on himself and the three-wheeler. Before the police could stop him, he set fire to himself and grappled the legs of a police officer surnamed Li.

The local government launched in June a crackdown on the use of electric three-wheelers for transportation, after the city issued regulations to forbid in 2011.

A total of 598 illegal electric three-wheelers have been destroyed after being confiscated from June to October this year, the Shijiazhuang-based Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported.

Yang Weidong, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, told the Global Times that the tragedy of this case reflects loopholes in law enforcement, as the police rely solely on hard punishments.

If the departments tried to persuade and educate the courier during former violations, or helped him with a replacement vehicle, the tragedy never happened, said Yang.

The Tiantian Express Delivery Tangshan subsidiary declined to comment on the case on Sunday.