Smiling official at tragic scene dismissed

A provincial bureau director has been dismissed from his post and is being further investigated, the Disciplinary Committee of the Communist Party of China Shaanxi Provincial Committee said on Friday.

Yang Dacai, director of Shaanxi's Provincial Administration Bureau for Work Safety, made headlines last month when a photograph of him smiling was taken at the scene of an Aug 26 traffic accident that killed 36 people and injured 3 others.

The provincial discipline watchdog said that it found that Yang had seriously violated the Party's discipline rules.

After the investigation, the Party's provincial committee dismissed Yang from his post as the bureau's director and secretary of the bureau's Party committee.

Internet users questioned Yang's apparent jovial mood at the accident scene, at a highway in Yan'an, a city in northern Shaanxi.

After that, other photos surfaced online of Yang wearing at least five different expensive watches, which further stirred debate among Internet users.