China detains lead poisoning victims who were in the wrong place at the wrong time

Chinese authorities have defended their actions saying the punishment was necessary for "public education".

Police in Jiahe, Hunan province, stopped a bus carrying 53 villagers who were on their way to get health checks last September, Chinese media reported.

Authorities mistakenly believed the villagers were going on a protest, and have detained two of them for six months on the charge of "disrupting traffic". Though it has since been proved that they and their children were contaminated by illegal emissions of heavy metals from a smelting factory, the local government refused to apologize.

"We may have blocked the wrong visit, but they should not have been on that road," Li Ying, deputy secretary of Jiahe county political and legislative committee told Chinese newspaper Beijing News, which published an investigation into the case.

Ou Shudong, the chairman of the local People's Congress, said the police roadblock and detentions were justified. "The villagers' intentions were unclear. Even if they were going for a medical examination, they should have informed the government."



[Source: The Guardian]