Police jailed for juvenile death

Four police officers are being sent to jail by a court in northwestern province of Shaanxi. The convicts are involved in torturing a high school student from Danfeng County. The pupil died, during an interrogation in March.

Four police officers are being sent to jail by a court in northwestern  province of Shaanxi.

The court sentenced Yan Yaofeng, former head of the Public Security Bureau of Danfeng County, to two years in jail for abuse of power.

Three other police officers were given terms ranging from one year to two and half years for extorting confessions through torture.

Another officer of the bureau was accused of dereliction of duty but was not given a criminal penalty.

All five pleaded guilty to their crimes related to the death of Xu Gengrong.

19-year-old Xu died on his eighth day of police detention. He was suspected of murdering a schoolmate.

Ji Junying, chief procurator of Danfeng County, said, "According to investigation and autopsy results, some police officers extorted the confession by using torture and violence during the interrogation of suspect Xu Gengrong."

The court says the officers tortured Xu by tying his hands, beating, and hanging him in a prolonged non-stop interrogation. Xu died in hospital after his heart stopped. An autopsy report claims Xu had a previous heart condition which could have led to his death.