Vendor buried after autopsy in central China

CHANGSHA - The body of a watermelon vendor who died in a violent clash with urban management officers in Central China's Hunan province was buried Friday evening, local authorities said.

The body of Deng Zhengjia, a 56-year-old farmer from Nanqiang Township of Chenzhou City, was buried in accordance with local customs following an autopsy Thursday afternoon in the presence of his family, witnesses and local procuratorate officials, according to authorities in Chenzhou.

Police in Chenzhou have sent body samples to an institution in south China's Guangdong Province for further examination to determine the cause of the death. Local authorities will announce the result once the examination is finished.

Deng and his wife had a verbal altercation that later turned violent with urban enforcement officers on Wednesday when they tried to sell home-grown watermelons at a riverside scenic spot where no vendors were allowed.

Deng's niece cited witnesses as saying that Deng was hit by a weight from a set of scales, and that his wife was also injured and is being treated in hospital.

Police launched an investigation against six urban management officers involved in the case Thursday.

An initial investigation has confirmed the officers had confiscated four of Deng's watermelons during the conflict.

The local government has designated an area for farmers to sell their home-grown watermelons. But many vendors prefer to do business in areas with more people such as the scenic spot where Deng and urban management officers clashed.

No vendors were seen selling watermelons in the designated area on Friday. Instead, farmers sold watermelons nearby in the absence of urban management officers.

China's urban management officers, or chengguan, are often criticised for their violent approach to tackling low-level, urban and non-criminal regulation violations. Reports about urban management law enforcement units often appear in the media due to accusations of chengguan officers beating vendors and smashing their stalls.