Suicide of Provincial Court Official Has No Connection to a Crime, Police Say

Zhang Zhongbin, vice president of the High People’s Court in central China’s Hubei province, committed suicide at his office on Monday, local police confirmed Tuesday, adding that there were no criminal activities involved in his death.

The Hubei High People’s Court said in a statement that Zhang, 53, had committed suicide by hanging himself at his office at noon. It said the vice president “had been sick and taking medicine for a long time.” The statement did not elaborate.

Zhang’s death was the latest suicide committed by an official in China, incidents that are often associated with mental illness or corruption-related investigations, among others.

On Friday, Mao Hongtao, the Communist Party chief of a university in Chengdu drowned in an apparent suicide, having accused the university president of “persecuting” him.

Local police received reports about Zhang’s death about 3 p.m. Monday. First-aid personnel confirmed his death after they arrived at the scene, according to a statement released by Wuchang district police in Wuhan, where the high court is located.

The police investigation ruled out any possibility of criminal activity involved in the suicide, the statement added.

Multiple sources familiar with the incident told Caixin that Zhang had been invited by his close acquaintance around noon for lunch, but he equivocated and declined.

On Monday morning, Zhang was summoned by a member of the provincial leadership for a conversation, Caixin has learned.

Around 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon, when a staff member of the high court knocked on the door of Zhang’s office to deliver some documents, there was no response and the door was locked. Zhang was subsequently found dead in his office.

Zhang was seen in his last public appearance on Friday afternoon when he chaired a meeting to review the high court’s work on the special campaign against “crime and evil” (扫黑除恶专项斗争).

Sources said an inspection team, dispatched by the provincial Communist Party committee for party discipline affairs, would arrive at the high court in a couple of days. It’s not immediately clear whether the planned inspection would involve the vice president.

Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com)

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