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Family of 'eluding the cat' victim seeking government compensation

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The family of Li Qiaoming – the 24-year-old Yuxi resident who was fatally injured in a Jinning detention facility earlier this month – is seeking 250,000 yuan (US$36,500) in compensation from the Jinning Public Security Department, according to Yuxi news reports.

A family representative told Yuxi News Net that Li Qiaoming's family has requested that the Jinning Public Security Department cremate his body after the completion of his autopsy, plus a quarter of a million yuan in compensation to pay for his funeral. Funerals in rural Yunnan can be several days long with thousands of guests eating and drinking for days.

On January 30, Li was arrested by Jinning police for felling trees illegally, he was held in a Jinning detention facility until February 8, when he was taken by police to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe brain damage. Four days later, Li was dead.

The official explanation from police was that Li received his head injuries – plus multiple blows and kicks to his body – while joining other detainees in a game of 'eluding the cat' ('duo maomao', 躲猫猫), a Chinese children's game similar to hide-and-seek in which the seeker wears a blindfold.

The police explanation of the 'eluding the cat incident' has been questioned throughout Chinese media and in Chinese blogs, bulletin board sites and forums. In response, the Yunnan Provincial Propaganda Department named a 15-member investigation committee to look into the case.

The committee, which was put under the direction of two popular bloggers, also consists of current and formal journalists as well as public security officers. During the committee's visit to the Jinning detention facility where Li died, the group was allowed to look at police documents and the cell in which Li was held.

However, the committee was not given access to video surveillance or autopsy evidence, nor was it allowed to speak with guards who were on duty at the time or the detainee that police said attacked Li, according to an International Herald Tribune report.

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[UNF]

Watch out for your life and stay away from the game 'elude the cat'!

I have no confidence about a just conclusion to this matter, and I'm not sure if Harvey Chen is being cynical or humorous but I do hope that Chris continues to follow this story (and I'm sure that he will) because it smells of strong fish. Oops, we've lost the video ... and the copy. Mmm, sorry for my cynicism.

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