An unnamed inmate allegedly suffering from AIDS reportedly hanged himself on Sunday at a detention center in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Sun Xiangyang, deputy director of the Qing'an county publicity department, told the Global Times Wednesday that the inmate was found hanging from the ceiling of his cell Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Three policemen responsible for monitoring the inmate have been suspended, and the case is under investigation, Sun added.
Policemen in the detention center are required to monitor inmates round the clock. However, The Beijing News reported that no policemen were monitoring him at the time he hanged himself.
Many detention centers refuse to accept the inmate who hanged himself, and was held in solitary confinement, according to Beijing News.
This is not the first time that inmates with infectious diseases died in custody.
In 2012, authorities in Dali, Yunnan Province claimed that a prisoner named Guo Yue-ming died of complications from HIV/AIDS. However, his relatives said they found many wounds in Guo's body, according to a local newspaper report.
Meng Lin, a member of the China Alliance of People Living with HIV/AIDS, told the Global Times Wednesday that police should treat inmates equally, especially to people suffering from AIDS.
"They are patients who require medical treatment," Meng said.
Many inmates suffering from AIDS are awaiting trial because most prisons cannot afford their expensive medical costs.
