Lhasa civilian death toll rises to 18

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-23-2008 09:41

In Lhasa, another five bodies have been found. They all died in a blaze started by rioters at a motorcycle garage. The dead have been identified as a married couple from central China's Henan Province, two male employees, and a baby girl who was less than a year old. It raises the civilian death toll in the Lhasa riots to 18.

In Lhasa, another five bodies have been found. They all died in a blaze started by rioters at a motorcycle garage.

Liang Zhiwei and his family have been living in Lhasa for two years, selling and repairing motorcycles in this shop.

His neighbor is the last person to see the family alive. Ma Zhenglu described the tragic event on March 15th.

Ma Zhenglu, Liang Zhiwei's neighbor said "The noise was very clear despite the great distance. It sounded like stones being thrown. And the smoke pouring out of the house was very heavy."

When the riots began, Liang and his wife brought their baby girl, along with two male employees, to the second floor of the shop for safety. Around ten o'clock at night, the rioters broke through the shop door and smash all the motorcycles inside. Then they set a gas container on fire.

On hearing that the shop was on fire, the landlord rushed back. He became the first witness to the crime scene.

The landlord said "I walked around the shop, upstairs and downstairs. I stepped on something. When I look at it closely, I found that it was a human skull. I wanted to know if somebody was burned to death."

The landlord called the police, and soon the identities of the five victims were confirmed. The landlord still can't believe what had happened.

The landlord said "I am very sad. We were getting along so well. When they gave birth to the child, I gave them rice paste and ghee as gift."

The shop is a mess now. Local residents are outraged by the violent crime.

Sangye, Tendzen, Lhasa resident said "This ruins people's happy life. I am so angry when I see that innocent people are burned to death."

The landlord said "To ensure future stability, these rioters should be severely punished. Only this can reassure all businessmen and people living here."

The incident is still under investigation. Tibet's local government says more than 240 police officers and 380 civilians were also injured in the riots. Damage to property is estimated at more than 244 million yuan.

Editor:Xiong Qu