Society

Guangxi police look into murder of tax official

By Zhang Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-04 09:37

BEIJING - The top official at a taxation bureau in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and his three relatives, including his 16-year-old granddaughter and 15-year-old grandson, were murdered on Monday, local police confirmed.

The four victims are the 44-year-old Zhou Zixiong, director of the Hezhou local taxation bureau's Hejie branch, his wife, surnamed Ling, and his two grandchildren. They were killed in their home on Aimin Road, Hezhou police said on Tuesday.

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"We are still investigating the case and the forensic experts are also busy collecting evidence," an official from the Hezhou public security bureau, surnamed Chen, told China Daily on Tuesday.

"When we make any progress, we will make the information we have public in a timely manner," he said.

Chen said Zhou's mother told police at 1 pm on Monday that her son and three other relatives had been murdered in the family's home.

Local police rushed to the scene and found the four dead, lying in a pool of blood.

He Tao, office head of Zhou's bureau, told China Daily that he thinks Zhou was a nice person who "got along well with his colleagues".

"I have never heard of him having any troubles arising from economic disputes or private conflicts," He said.

According to He, he and Zhou went to the Xindu county taxation department for an inspection on April 29. Zhou was in a good mood and looked completely normal.

He also noted that Zhou's wife had been selling decoration fabrics after being laid off from a textile factory.