Rumors and follow-up for Tianjin bus incident

Zhang Yimin’s house. From The Beijing News

On Monday an incident occurred in Tianjin where 10 people were killed by an employee of a government affiliated utilities company. Zhang Yimin (张义民) drove a bus to hit bystanders and police in Tianjin’s CBD district. See Danwei’s front page for the whole story.

Since then rumors have been flying about the cause of the incident, including the suspect’s brother alleging that Zhang Yimin, the suspect, reported that his wife and daughter had been kidnapped to the bathing center opposite his residential complex. Today, The Beijing News follows up with interviews with neighbors and a call-in reader who wanted to verify some details in their earlier report.

Yesterday, no-one answered at the home of the Tianjin malicious car incident’s Zhang Yimin. His neighbor said that after the incident Zhang Yimin’s home has been empty. The local government certified yesterday evening that the numbers of the dead is now 10 people.

The night before the incident a noisy man visited

Zhang Yimin’s home is in the Binhai new area (滨海新区)， Hangzhou road, Huiyangli and inside a certain residential complex. The apartment is on the 3rd floor and the space is less than 50sqm, with two bedrooms, the living room is a narrow corridor. Left and right of the apartment’s door, there are numerous advertisement stickers on the walls.

Four people stay here permanently: himself, his wife, his mother and his daughter. His neighbors’ impressions of him: 1.80 meters tall, handsome-looking, introverted, not prone to speaking, seems kindly and when he sees someone he knows, he’s first in saying hello.

A neighbor who lived in the same unit said that the night before the incident a man who was around 1.65 meters tall swearing and talking loudly on his phone came upon Zhang’s door and used him hand to loudly pound on the anti-theft door. When Zhang opened his door he asked his guest to “come in and speak,” afterward both doors smashed shut.　

The day before yesterday, Zhang Yimin’s fourth brother Zhang Yiyuan (张义元) told this reporter that his little brother called him the night before the incident saying that his wife and daughter had been kidnapped to the bathing center opposite the residential complex, and wanted him to accompany him to report it to the police.

At present, it is not known whether the man who visited was Zhang Yiyuan. The bathing center close-by also denied the kidnapping incident.

The relevant authorities has certified that there are 10 dead

Last night, Tianjin’s relevant authorities released information on enorth.com.cn to say that one heavily injured person died after failed resuscitation. But the local Public Security bureau and local Publicity Department did not reply concerning whether police’s action during the incident could have been the cause.

The reporter asked the Hangzhou Road police station where Zhang Yimin’s home is, whether Zhang Yimin reported to the police that his wife and daughter had been kidnapped just before the incident happened, the police representative said, “Without the permission from above, we can’t accept any interviews.”

A migrant worker from Hebei, He Xiangling (何香玲) died in the incident, her son Liu Changsheng (刘长生) did not answer his phone. After the inciden someone had been accompanying Liu, and at one point had taken his phone from him to speak to this reporter directly.

Liu Jianxin’s (刘建新) brother revealed that his brother was recovering well, and at present was able to converse clearly, “Leaders have not spoken to us about medical bills and compensation yet.”

Leaving a question open　

“The report about the local situation had some incorrections”

Some in-the-know person thinks that the brand of the car that was reported was wrong, as well as where the suspect stabbed his colleague.

Yesterday morning, someone who said they had knowledge about the affair called this newspaper to say that the bulletin that was published locally had many wrong facts.

1. The brand of the bus that caused trouble in the reported was wrong

According to this person, Zhang Yimin drove an Irizar (伊利萨尔) rather than what the report said: a Huanghe bus. According to his information, T&B utilities company had many Irizars, and its external appearance and bus label is the same as the photo from the scene of the incident.

2. The place of incident in the report is wrong

According to this person, the local government’s bulletin also got the place wrong, “It wasn’t in the company that he stabbed someone,” they said, it actually happened “near the front door of the Toyota company,” at the time the transfers of two Irizars at the T&B company had just been completed.

According to him, Zhang Yimin and Li Tao (李涛) was on one of the buses with a Toyota employee, Zhang Yimin and Li Tao were having a conversation as always, “They weren’t in an argument, then suddenly without realizing why, Zhang took out a knife and pointed it towards Li. After Li was stabbed he got off the bus and sprinted away, Zhang ran after him with the knife but was stopped by the Toyota employee, who held onto his waist from behind. At this time the driver of the Irizar behind saw what was happening, stopped the bus and got off. Then Zhang stabbed at his own neck with the blade, but it wasn’t life-threatening, so he ran towards the other vehicle, then the 2.1 incident happened.

“Hitting people was not forced by the police.” He said, the local relevant authorities reported what happened that Zhang drove the bus out of the T&B area to the CBD aroused suspicions about how police were treating it, but this is not in line with what actually happened.

This person, who doesn’t want to give his real identity, said Zhang Yimin and Li Tao had a good relationship: Li Tao had helped Zhang Yimin into T&B utilities company.

The Toyota company has many companies and factories in Tianjin’s CBD district. Yesterday afternoon this reporter was at the second, fifth, seventh and other locations asking questions but all the security guards didn’t know anything about it.

Paying a visit

Neighbors say that Zhang Yimin is normally very kind

According to the neighbors, Zhang Yimin’s family normally seemed very good-natured. Recently during heavy snowfall in Tianjin, Zhang’s mother voluntarily gathered and swept up the snow.

Although Zhang’s house is spare, the environment around his house is good. Zhang’s wife frequently goes down to the shop to buy beer, each time it’s 3 bottles; Zhang Yimin rarely goes.

The residential complex has walls that are not very soundproof, and the neighbors has never heard Zhang Yimin get into a fight with his wife. Therefore of the couple’s relationship, it’s “hard to say.”

Downstairs the local barbers say that every month Zhang Yimin gets his hair cut, each time it’s 6 yuan, his only wish is, “Not too short, but do what you think.” When they have a conversation it’s about the stock market.

Zhang’s wife is apparently from Zhangjiakou (张家口) in Hebei province. Every 6 months she would go to the barber’s and get her hair straightened, each time for 50 yuan. Zhang’s daughter is just over 10 years-old.

A local said that after the incident the police went to investigate in Zhangjiakou. As for Zhang Yimin’s brother’s words about the kidnapping of his wife and daughter, the neighbors professed ignorance.