CRI听力:Hospital Buildings in Zhengzhou Demolished Illegally

A large excavator arrived at the No.4 Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University on Friday morning and began demolishing the buildings of the radiological department and mortuary without any advance notice.

Dozens of young men wearing camouflage coats surrounded the excavator to prevent hospital staff from intervening.

The Information office of the Huiji district government said later the buildings were affacted by a road extension project. A self-demolish notice had been served on the hospital three times in 2015, but no reply had been received.

The buildings had been erected as temporary structures more than twenty years ago. According to China's laws, such buildings should not exist for longer than three years.

Professor Wang Jingbo at the China University of Political Science and Law, said the dismantling of the hospital buildings should follow due legal process.

"Demolishment must follow legal procedures and property owners have the right to present and defend their case. Only in this way can we say the demolishment is legally sanctioned. For the illegal buildings, administrative organs can demolish them forcibly; for the legal ones, demolishment enforcement authorities must get the approval from the court based on house expropriation and compensation rules."

It's claimed however, the destruction of the hospital happened without warning.

Director of the radiological department, Liu Chunguang, said he was in the middle of a diagnosis when he heard noises.

"I was operating equipment at this place, while the patient was sitting here. The patient was frightened by the rumbling noises and ran away, shouting 'earthquake, earthquake'."

Video footage shows the roof of the buildings being torn down and valuable equipment being crushed by falling debris.

Hospital staff Yuan Fang said six bodies stored in the mortuary were also buried under debris. And since the power had been cut off, the bodies could no longer be conserved.

Yuan added the two sides came into conflict and three of the hospital staff were injured.

"We wanted to enter but they prevented us from entering. They beat our deputy secretary of the Party committee, a driver of the emergency department and a doctor. The three are injured."

Wang Jingbo believes the destruction was far from legal.

"No matter whether the buildings are legal or not, it is illegal to break them down violently without considering the safety of hospital staff and patients. So the loss brought by the breakdown must be compensated. Personnel and authorities involved must be punished."

The Huiji district government claimed they knew nothing about the operation and has started an investigation into the case.

It is believed the local district government and the hospital came to an agreement later in the day and that the government has promised to provide compensation.

But the investigation team have said their focus is on whether the destruction had a legal basis, and said that the issue of compensation was not yet under consideration.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.