Urumqi protesters confront police over syringe attacks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-04 22:14

The Xinjiang International Exhibition Center, the venue of the ongoing 18th Urumqi Trade Fair which attracts crowds of business people from all around the world, especially from central Asia, was under tight security and had fewer visitors than normal Friday.

Participants were required to open their bags and then have them scanned at the entrance of the exhibition center. Most participants had walked a long way to the venue because of traffic controls.

Many indoor booths were vacant as company representatives had not shown up and the flow of visitors had also dropped drastically. Many firms were beginning to sell products on display at half price.

"No one came. It is unsafe in the city. The needle attacks are terrible," said a sales girl from the Double Happiness Home Appliance Co., based in Zhuhai City in the coastal province of Guangdong.

Zhang Min, a native of Urumqi, said she visited the trade fair every year to order suitcases. "But people are scared of going out now, so the trade fair will be ruined," Zhang said.

A delegate from Usu City in Xinjiang said his team was told to limit their activities to within 300 meters of their hotels after the event closed every day.

Police in Urumqi have detained 21 people, of whom six are in police custody and four referred for criminal prosecution, said the regional information office Thursday.

It also said the courts would hand down severe punishments to those found guilty.

Authorities have issued arrest warrants for 196 suspects and prosecuted 51 for involvement in the July 5 riot, the regional government information office said Thursday.

Police have requested the procuratorate to approve the arrests of another 239 suspects thought to be involved in 140 crimes. Another 825 are being held in criminal detention, the office said.

Police authorities said Friday Urumqi's 24 hospitals had received 531 victims of hypodermic syringe stabbings. Of those 106 showed obvious signs of needle attacks.

The victims include members of ethnic groups such as the Han, Uygur and Kazakhstan.

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