July 3, 2009
Police have completed their investigation into the June 5 bus fire in Chengdu that killed 27.
They concluded that cause of the fire was arson, committed by a 62-year-old man named Zhang Yunliang who carried gasoline onto the bus and then ignited it.
According to the report, Zhang was a compulsive gambler who had been unemployed since 2006. Earlier this year, his daughter, on whom he was financially dependent, cut back his allowance. He protested by threatening suicide several times. On June 4, the day prior to the fire, Zhang called his daughter and told her that he would “be gone tomorrow,” and “in a very different way.”
Zhang’s dead body was found on the center of the fire and there was no sign that he tried to escape. His family in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province received a note from him in the mail on June 9.
Netizens have questioned the truth of the police explanation, with the sudden appearance of a weeks-old suicide note and the fact no explanation was given for the jammed doors major points of doubt.
In other news, a police officer in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province who took his dog for a walk by strapping it to a moving police patrol car was removed from his position as vice captain after someone uploaded the photo to the Internet.
And a primary school teacher in Chongqing decided to get plastic surgery for the benefit of her students. According to the paper’s report, after the teacher overheard some students commenting on their teachers’ looks, she decided a prettier look would make her more popular among the students, thus benefiting her teaching.
- Xinhua via Netease (Chinese): Investigation into Chengdu fire concluded
- Oriental Morning Post via Netease: Police officer who walks his dog with a patrol car stripped of his position
- ESWN: The Chengdu Bus Fire Case Is ‘Solved’