News Update: Beijing Mobile Gaming Company Executive Xing Yanjun Found Dead in “Designated Residential Surveillance” Premises
The case of Xing Yanjun, a high-ranking executive of a Beijing mobile gaming company who was found dead in a “designated residential surveillance” location, has seen new developments. While the Inner Mongolia police reportedly agreed to close the case, the family is demanding accountability. This has once again sparked public debate on issues such as the legitimacy of cross-regional handling of cases by the Chinese Communist Party police and the practice of “residential surveillance at a designated place.”
According to a report from China’s Caixin website on December 15, 247 days after Xing Yanjun’s death, the Hulunbuir New Barag Banner Public Security Bureau in Inner Mongolia finally announced the closure of the case involving the “Jueji League Texas Poker App suspected of operating a casino,” citing “no criminal facts.” However, Xing Yanjun’s brother, Xing Yuejun, confirmed that Xing Yanjun’s body was cremated on December 13. Additionally, according to China’s Yicai report, following Xing Yanjun’s death, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Procuratorate and Tongliao City Procuratorate have set up a special task force to investigate the matter. The lawyer representing the case stated to the media on Saturday that they will pursue accountability for Xing Yanjun’s abnormal death in accordance with the family’s wishes.
Based on judicial documents previously presented by Xing Yuejun and the lawyer, Xing Yanjun was criminally detained by the New Barag Banner Public Security Bureau in Inner Mongolia on November 8, 2023, on suspicion of “operating a casino.” He was put under residential surveillance at a designated place on December 15 of the same year. On the morning of April 3 this year, Xing Yanjun was found dead at the “designated residence” location.
It is noted that while “residential surveillance at a designated place” is a mandatory measure stipulated in China’s Criminal Procedure Law, its original purpose mostly focuses on individuals without a fixed residence to ensure the normal progress of legal proceedings, rather than for gathering evidence or detention. However, in recent years, with the intervention of the party’s disciplinary and inspection organs in handling cases, residential surveillance has become a more common measure. Additionally, the Chinese Communist Party police’s approach to “cross-regional handling of cases” seems to be evolving.
Public opinion questions why the Hulunbuir police had the jurisdiction to target Xing Yanjun and over ten others located 1500 kilometers away, freezing their company and personal bank accounts, given that Xing Yanjun’s company registration and household registration are both in Beijing, and he had no business operations in Inner Mongolia.
A report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency this Sunday raised concerns that Xing Yanjun was one of the victims of recent police practices of “distant capture.” The authorities, in the midst of economic downturn and financial constraints at the local level, are reportedly using cross-regional law enforcement to target businesses in order to meet revenue targets.
Source: Radio Free Asia