Abducted official safe; suspect held

Police will charge 38-year-old Wu Shengli next week with kidnapping and injuring Wang Bingrong, Party chief of Weining County in southwestern Guizhou Province, on April 13.

"We are making final preparations to conduct legal proceedings for the procuratorate departments," a police officer told China Daily yesterday.

Wang is still in hospital, according to an official of the county office.

The Guangzhou-based Nanfang Weekend reported the case yesterday. According to the newspaper, the kidnapping occurred at the Party chief's home at about 8 pm and the kidnapper demanded a ransom of 21 million yuan ($2.73 million) for his release.

Wang tried to call a local finance official for help, but he thought Wang was playing a joke on him.

It was not until the next morning when the official received a second call from Wang that public security departments were alerted.

Wang was found seriously injured and rushed to hospital.

"There were three big wounds on his head," one of Wang's nurses from Weining County People's Hospital said on April 20. "Surface wounds have healed, but there is still a hematoma inside his head."

Wu, from Hubei Province, was captured "without difficulty" and put under criminal custody, the newspaper said. He used to work as a truck driver for a local gold mining company.

While officials remain tight-lipped about the case, rumors of why Wang was targeted have spread.

"It is a pure kidnap case for money, and there is nothing between Wang and the kidnapper," Li Zhengchao, a local official told the Guangzhou newspaper.

But others are not convinced given that Weining is a remote county and kidnapping a top official poses high risks.

Two mine explosions in the coal-rich county last May and June killed 20 workers, leading to the shutdown of more than 400 illegal mines.

Wang is believed to have ordered the closure of more than 2,000 illegal mines in one year.

In Weining, Wang is known for his boldness in streamlining local government bodies.

Over-staffing of departments has been a problem in the county.

For example, there are as many as six or seven vice-directors for a small department, as compared to two, regulated by the State.

Wang's reform has reduced the ranks by more than 100 senior officials.

"Many officials could previously stay in their posts until aged 58, but now they have to step down at 50," said a local official.

Last November, Wen Jiangang, the former head of Xingren County, was stabbed to death together with five other family members.

He was also known for his tough stance on coalmine safety. Wen had closed more than 300 illegal coalmines within six months.