One government worker was killed and another injured during an inspection of illegally subdivided flats in Shenzen on Monday.
The incident happened during a joint operation being carried out in the Wenfeng community in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, after the government discovered that flats had been illegally subdivided in seven old buildings in an industrial area, sina.com.cn reported.
The law enforcers discovered the situation in February, causing concern about fire and safety risks in the buildings. A sub-landlord surnamed Huang had turned the buildings into subdivided flats. He divided each room into two and offered them at a cheap price to tenants.
In one building, Huang divided 40 rooms into 97 rooms accommodating 112 people, while another 30-room building was divided into 81 flats accommodating 120 people. The inspection team said people living in the subdivided flats only had about a six square meter area, according to a TV News program on Shenzhen Media Group.
The Party committee sent letters to Huang and asked for changes to be made before June 1. However, the law enforcers found only one building had undergone any renovation and the other six buildings remained the same.
The team, including workers from the Party committee of Wenfeng community and from the water and electricity suppliers, went to the buildings on Monday and planned to order Huang to make changes.
A Party committee officer said they only cut one water meter and did not stop the power supply. During the operation, Huang and his father started having a quarrel.
When the inspection team planned to leave the scene, two members of the operation team were attacked by Huang’s father who had a screwdriver. Other team members subdued the man and rushed the two injured people to the hospital. However, a 28-year-old man was pronounced dead at the hospital. Another man suffered an injury.
Huang’s father was arrested and detained at the police station for further questioning.