Official suspended for dangerous driving

An official suspected of dangerous driving has been suspended from work and is under investigation after a video of the accident provoked public anger, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

Wang Weixiong, vice-director of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Bureau in Pu'er city, Southwest China's Yunnan province, has also been ordered to do a self-criticism for alleged dangerous driving.

An online video showed that Wang intentionally blocked a car behind him from passing when driving on a highway in Yunnan on June 4. The controversial behavior caused the car to crash into a guardrail, injuring three passengers, including a 7-month baby. The video showed that Wang left the scene of the accident.

A web user named Fangpeng 126, who said he was driving behind the two cars when the accident occurred, published the video online as well as some pictures showing the injured toddler and a tire that fell apart.

Angry Web users later found out Wang was the driver who left the scene. He was on vacation, but using a government-funded car for private purposes.

Apart from being suspended from work, Wang was fined 200 yuan ($31.40) and 3 points were deducted from his driving record, Xinhua quoted Zhao Chunquan, a local highway police officer, as saying.

Zhao said Wang takes full responsibility for the accident, but whether he is guilty of dangerous driving is hard to determine.

One of the three passengers in the car that crashed, surnamed Cai, told Xinhua News Agency that the accident happened when his wife was driving from Honghe prefecture to Kunming, capital city of Yunnan, and he was holding their baby in the passenger seat.

Cai said his wife could not allow Wang pass when he signaled that he wanted to switch lanes because there were too many trucks and buses around.

Wang could not be reached for comment. Local information officer Peng Jing told Xinhua that the city government has required Wang to make self-criticism during the suspension and to take care of the problems caused by the accident.