A 29-year-old man's mysterious death while he was being driven to a police station has raised suspicions of police brutality and has aroused nationwide public concerns about citizens' personal security.
Aside from requesting details on the case of Lei Yang - who allegedly died of a heart attack in police custody in Beijing's Changping district on Saturday - the public is concerned about both the justice of law enforcement action and their own security in similar situations, according to a Xinhua News Agency editorial published Thursday.
"Every person's rights and security should be protected, even if he or she has exhibited personal misconduct or is suspected of committing a crime. No one can die for nothing. Society as a whole will be besieged by anxiety without the protection of basic rights," said the editorial.
A second statement released by the Changping police on Wednesday said that they had arrested five other people at the foot massage parlor where Lei was taken into custody, and evidence at the scene showed that Lei had paid 200 yuan ($31) for sex.
"According to the information gathered on the case, the police may have misused their power during their enforcement of the law," Mao Lixin, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Shangquan Law Firm, told the Global Times. "If Lei did solicit a prostitute, it would have led to administrative detention, and there would have been no need to handcuff him."
According to the police statement, when officers tried to take Lei to the police station to be questioned, he "resisted and attempted to run away." The police said they then took coercive measures against him, but he suddenly fell ill.
The editorial also pointed out that instead of providing facts to dispel confusion, the statements released by the police appear to try Lei's ethics in the court of public opinion.
It also noted that possible misconduct by law enforcement and the lack of video records of the incident have aroused further suspicion.
"Methods of enforcing the law should be reasonable. However, some police officers believe that all approaches are allowed as long as their purposes are legitimate," Mao said.
Xinhua's editorial suggested higher supervisory authorities in the law enforcement field should intervene in the case, since the authenticity of information released by the local police cannot be guaranteed.
