Henan cadre stole veteran's identity for 23 years

The personal files and identity of a veteran have been used by a cadre in a township government in Dancheng county, Henan province, for 23 years until the situation went viral online recently.

A joint working group is investigating the case and the imposter has been detained for investigation on Wednesday, the county government said.

Wu Ruihua, the veteran, found his files and identity had been used by another person in October when the county's veterans affairs bureau released a detailed circular of the local veterans' resettlement situation.

Through the verification in the bureau, Wu found a man, registered as a veteran with the name of "Wu Ruihua", had been sent to work in Yilu township government in 1996.

After checking the man's files, Wu found all of the information was his, and even the signature for the salary was written in his name, but he had never worked in the township government, Wu said.

Wu found the man's working personnel file, which showed that he was born in 1979 and started to work in 1992, and entered the township government as a veteran, with a length of service for 28 years.

Wu reported the case to the county's veterans affairs bureau in late October.

The imposter has been a cadre in the Yilu township government, and his wife is a deputy director in charge of organization and personnel of the township government, according to Beijing news.

Wu, 47 years old, is from Baima town of Dancheng county. He joined the army in 1992 and was decommissioned in 1995. After he returned home, he went to the local civil affairs bureau to ask about work as local governments are obliged to find jobs for decommissioned soldiers, but he was told to wait. In 1996, Wu left his hometown for work, because the bureau didn't inform him of the resettlement information.

He is engaged in renovation work in his hometown to raise three children and support his elderly parents. During the past two decades, he earned a living by working for others and farming.