HANGZHOU, China, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A Chinese official in the coastal province of Zhejiang has jumped to his death rather than face investigation for corruption, local reports said Monday.
Shi Jiuwu, 51, director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission, leaped from the window of his third-floor office Friday afternoon, after being questioned by anti-corruption investigators that morning, the South China Morning Post reported.
Sources told the Post that Shi's suicide may have been linked to a corruption scandal involving about 10 officials with the Hangzhou Economic Development Area in the provincial capital.
Zhejiang authorities have barred local media from reporting on the case, the Hong Kong-based newspaper said.
The incident is the latest in a series of suicides, or attempted suicides, by provincial officials facing investigation in recent months.
Last month, deputy Hunan governor Zheng Maoqing slit his wrists while facing a corruption probe, but survived. Last November, Wang Wei, deputy mayor of Jilin city, was found hanged at home after being accused of bungling rescue efforts when a petrochemical plant exploded, causing extensive river pollution.
