55 officials punished for deadly January fire

Fifty-five officials were punished after they were found responsible for a fire that killed 39 people and injured nine in January at a building complex in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, according to a notice released by the provincial discipline inspection commission and supervisory commission on Wednesday.

Three suspected of seriously violating Party disciplines and national laws, as well as for committing duty-related crimes, are under investigation: Ding Xiaorong, head of the Yuanhe branch of the Xinyu fire rescue team; Deng Yuanqing, former director of the civil air defense office in Xinyu; and Gong Yuxin, a former official at the urban development service center in Xinyu.

The latter two have had their cases transferred to procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution.

The other 52 officials, from related departments, were punished for negligence and dereliction of duty in the incident.

Zheng Guangquan, Party secretary of Xinyu, received a severe disciplinary warning from the Communist Party of China, while Xu Hong, deputy Party secretary and mayor of Xinyu, was removed from both posts.

Other officials who were removed from their posts include Jian Huafeng, head of Yushui district, where the fire occurred; Zeng Xianfeng, director of Xinyu's education bureau; Lin Xiangzhong, deputy director of the housing and urban-rural development bureau; and Zhou Zhirong, director of the Tiangong Road police station of the Yushui branch of the Xinyu public security bureau.

Previous investigations showed that the fire was caused by the illegal construction of a cold storage facility in the basement of the building complex, resulting in the casualties and a direct economic loss of more than 43.52 million yuan ($6.17 million).

Victims included people who were inside a hotel, as well as students and teachers having classes at an educational training institution in the complex.

Furthermore, 10 people suspected of committing serious accident liability crimes are under investigation by the public security authorities and were arrested by procuratorial authorities.

They include Wu Hegen, legal representative of Xinyu Ningshuang Refrigeration Equipment; Liu Jinhan, legal representative of Xinyu Boyi Education Consulting; and Zhang Jiansheng, legal representative and operator of Juxinyuan Hotel.