Any Dongguan officials who are found to have wilfully covered up the number of dead and injured in last Friday's building collapse will be subject to criminal investigation, officials of Guangdong Province have pledged.
Huang Han, deputy director of the Guangdong Economic and Trade Commission's Industrial Safety Inspection Office, was quoted by Guangzhou's New Evening Express as saying that the provincial government - not the local government of Dongguan - would take over the investigation if the accident was confirmed to be a "serious" one.
Under Chinese law, industrial accidents which kill more than 10 people are classified as "serious".
Mr Huang was not available for further comment Wednesday. One of his colleagues would only say that the office was monitoring the situation.
His assurance came as relatives of victims said they had been offered compensation of 30,000 yuan (HK$28,000) if they waived the right to sue.
Liu Dailin, a relative of a victim from Anyue in Sichuan Province, was quoted as saying he had been offered 30,000 yuan compensation by officials in Houjie township and Chiling, the village in which the accident occurred. Victims' relatives were also told the offer was conditional on their forfeiting their right to sue. If they did not do so, the compensation offered would be less. The Chiling Village Committee is said to have engaged lawyers to negotiate settlements with victims' families.
Local reporters asked by victims' relatives to clarify the number of dead and wounded with Houjie township and Chiling village officials were again turned away at government offices. Government officials and special teams established to handle accident-related work also refused to confirm their initial death toll and casualty count.
Authorities maintain the death toll from the accident was eight, although official newspapers - quoting information provided by relatives - have identified at least 12 bodies.
Meanwhile, construction work involving building more floors on to existing structures has been stopped throughout Dongguan, pending safety checks.
The building that collapsed last Friday was having two floors added to it and was privately owned by the head of Chiling village. The work-stoppage order affects all relevant construction projects in Dongguan, both public and private.
(China Daily 12/07/2000)
