Police officer arrested for alleged baby throwing

A police officer in Linzhou, Henan province, was arrested for intentional assault on Aug 22 for allegedly throwing down a 7-month-old girl to the ground a month ago, Beijing Times reported on Friday.

Guo Zengxi, 50, was also dismissed from office and expelled from the Communist Party of China, according to Linzhou's public security bureau.

At about 9 pm on July 20, Guo and three colleagues left a restaurant in Linzhou and saw a couple walking with their 7-month-old daughter. Guo, who witnesses said was intoxicated, made a bet with his colleagues that the baby was a toy doll. He then grabbed her from her parents and threw her to the ground to prove his claim, seriously injuring the child, according to the police.

The baby was immediately taken to the hospital by her parents, and she is now in stable condition.

Chinese media exposed the case on Aug 17 and Guo was detained the same day, nearly one month after the incident.

The top three officials of the Party committee of Linzhou public security bureau, including the director, political commissar and deputy secretary, were also replaced as they did not report the case to the public and detain Guo after the incident, according to the report.

Wei Shuping, the former director of the bureau who was replaced on Aug 17, said the bureau did not expose the case to protect the image and reputation of the police.