More than 50 villagers suffering from lead poisoning have been in custody for six months after the bus taking them to the doctor was stopped by policeChinese authorities have defended the six-month detention of lead poisoning victims who were seeking medical care, saying the punishment was necessary for "public education".Police in Jiahe, Hunan province, blocked a bus carrying 53 villagers who were on their way to get
health checks last September, according to Chinese media.Mistakenly believing the villagers were planning to protest, the police have detained two of them for the six months since on the charge of "disrupting traffic". Though it has since been proved that they and their
children were contaminated by illegal emissions of heavy metals from a smelting factory, the local government was unapologetic."We may have blocked the wrong visit, but they should not have been on that road," Li Ying, deputy secretary of Jiahe county political and legislative committee told the Beijing News, which today published an investigation into the incident.Ou Shudong, the chairman of the local People's Congress, told the newspaper the police roadblock and detentions were justified. "The villagers' intentions were unclear. Even if they were going for a medical examination, they should have informed the government."The story highlights the feudal control that local officials exercise in much of rural
China. It also exemplifies the widespread strategy of stifling dissent by making an example of suspected ringleaders, a tactic known as "killing a chicken to scare the monkeys".A Jiahe county report cited by the newspaper says the punishment of a few people "served the purpose of public education for the majority". The Guardian's calls to the county government, police bureau and communist party went unanswered.The journalistic exposure of police tactics came amid a widening wave of heavy metal scandals. Since the first cases last summer, more than 3,000 children natio ...
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