Govt officials beat restaurant owner to death

A restaurant owner in Central China's Henan province was allegedly beaten to death by a gang of four, including at least 2 government officials, who had dined in his restaurant Saturday, Huashang Newspaper reported on Monday.

A land resources director and a relative of his, a procuratorate staff member, and a self-claimed officer from the agriculture bureau who has not been identified yet, dined on Saturday afternoon at Li Jinming's restaurant in Nanzhao county, Central China's Henan province, according to the report.

Clash broke out after the four refused to pay in cash after the meal and demanded to sign the bill in the name of the government, but were rejected, according to the victim's son Li Xiangyang.

"Our staff declined their request because they were unfamiliar faces, and my father stepped in and gave a further no as the owner of the restaurant after they started to smash tableware and beat our waiters," Li Xiangyang said.

Two of them then attacked Li Jinming on his neck, face and belly until dragged away by others, shows CCTV footage of the scene. Li fell and died right on the spot.

The diners had had a lot of drink during the meal and even clashed with the police later when they were trying to take the attackers under control, a witness surnamed Wang said.

Local authorities have confirmed the case and said further investigation is underway.

My father was a CPC member and also a deputy to People's Congress of Nanzhao County; He resented such embezzlement of public funds for dinners with families, Li Xiangyang told reporters.