Liao Xiangguang displays a bruise in his arm on Oct 24 after he was beaten by his son Liao Tianye, a civil servant at the bureau of development and finance in Shenzhen’s New Guangming district. [PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

BEIJING - A civil servant in Shenzhen will be the subject of an internal investigation and a penalty from his employer even though he apologized to his parents on Sunday for beating them during family quarrels.

Liao Tianye, a public servant from the bureau of development and finance in Shenzhen's New Guangming district, got down on his knees to say "sorry" to his parents after several officials had paid a visit to his home on Sunday and asked him to "correct his mistakes".

Liao also said he had acted violently because he was feeling stressed following the birth of his son and that he had not communicated well with his parents.

Hearing his apology, Liao's parents forgave him.

"Our bureau has set up an investigation team to probe Liao's case and he will receive an appropriate punishment," said one of Liao's colleagues, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Liao's father, Liao Xiangguang, a 59-year-old farmer from Central China's Hunan province, reported to police on Oct 24 that his son had acted violently toward him and his wife, according to local media reports.

Liao's father, who was found on Oct 24 with a bleeding arm and torn T-shirt in his son's neighborhood, said his wife and he had come to Shenzhen to help take care of their grandson, who was born in January.

Liao's father said that Liao, from April to August, had beat his mother's face several times and called her "a pig" in response to trivial events. One attack was provoked because his mother had spoken in a Hunan dialect rather than Mandarin at home.

Following media reports about the case, Wang Rong, Shenzhen Party chief, wrote a letter on the subject and published it online.

Wang said such attacks are not uncommon among young people in Shenzhen, who sometimes respond with immoral behavior to the rapid urbanization they see around them and the resulting pressures.

Wang said civil servants should set good examples for others, both in their work and their private lives.

Zhou Xiaozheng, a professor from Renmin University of China's department of sociology, said Liao's case was an isolated event and is not evidence that the country's morals are declining.

At the same time, Zhou called on Chinese schools and universities to pay more attention to moral education.

A survey conducted on Sunday by Sina.com.cn, one of China's biggest information portals, showed that only 25 percent of Chinese netizens say they have forgiven Liao.

Of the 2,207 respondents to the survey, 1,649 said they think Liao's behavior was too abominable to be forgiven, while 1,141 said they do not consider him qualified to be a civil servant.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/01/2011 page5)