On December 29, a netizen from Shanxi posted a video report, alleging that his father was beaten by a town official after drinking at home, resulting in injuries that required hospitalization.
Surveillance footage shows that around 8:40 pm on December 27, an elderly man was surrounded by three men in the yard, one of whom slapped the elderly man. A physical altercation ensued between the two parties, with the three men ultimately cornering the elderly man in a corner. During the incident, a woman tried to intervene but was pulled away by one of the men.
According to reports from Zonglan News, the netizen is Mr. Wen, a villager from Xinzhuang Village, Xiangfen Town, Linfen City, Shanxi. According to him, from April to December this year, Cao, a village cadre in Xincheng Town, arranged for his father to clear the trash from three garbage pits in the village, with an agreed labor fee of a total of 9000 yuan. However, on December 27, Cao called his father and said he could only pay 5000 yuan, which his father refused. Cao then started verbally abusing him.
Mr. Wen said that his father also argued back, which made Cao angry. At around 8:40 pm that night, Cao, who was drunk, along with village cadre Chai and another unidentified man, arrived at his father’s house. As soon as they entered the gate, Cao slapped his father a few times, with the surveillance footage capturing the last slap.
“The unidentified man held onto my father, preventing him from fighting back, while Chai was trying to calm the situation,” Mr. Wen said. His father’s left ear was injured, requiring two stitches, and he experienced hearing loss and persistent headaches. Currently, his father is still hospitalized for treatment.
Medical records from Xiangfen County People’s Hospital show that his father suffered from a closed mild closed head injury, a skin laceration on the left ear, nasal bone and maxillary sinus frontal bone fracture (to be confirmed).
After the incident, Mr. Wen has reported the case to the local police station.
Public records indicate that village cadre officials, usually at the village level, are often held by cadres at the department level or above, who are personnel within the system. On the other hand, local village officials such as village committee members, village accountants, and accountants do not hold formal positions as civil servants or state employees.
The incident has sparked concern online, with many netizens lamenting that “such officials should be removed to prevent harm to the people” and expressing dismay at the rampant influence of power and criminal forces becoming the norm.
On December 30, Xiangfen County in Shanxi reported that Cao, the village cadre in question, has been administratively detained for 15 days and fined 1000 yuan.