China snuffs out memorials to victims of deadly car rampage

ZHUHAI (AFP) — Officials in southern China ramped up security on Wednesday at the site of one of the country’s deadliest mass-casualty events in years, snuffing out makeshift memorials to the 35 people killed when a man drove a car into a crowd at a sports complex.

On Monday, the 62-year-old man surnamed Fan ploughed a small SUV through a gate to the complex in the city of Zhuhai and into crowds of people as they exercised on the roads inside, according to police.

An initial police statement said people had been injured but did not mention any deaths, and videos of the attack later appeared to be removed by China’s internet censors.

As of Wednesday, the rampage had left 35 people dead and 43 with injuries not deemed life-threatening, according to state media.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) saw residents and delivery drivers laying bouquets at a gate outside the complex on Wednesday morning, but within minutes the flowers were carried behind a cordon fence.

“What happened wasn’t a small incident,” a woman of about 50 told AFP, requesting anonymity to protect her privacy.

“We should remember those who passed away and not be so cold. I think more people in Zhuhai should come out here and lay some flowers in memorial,” she added.

A hashtag related to the attack shot to number one on the popular Weibo social media site but had been removed by Wednesday afternoon.

Many comments appeared to have been removed or restricted, though some managed to slip through the cracks.

“Such vibrant lives, taken away like this, leaving families shattered. The perpetrator must be strictly punished,” one user wrote.

Police said Fan was apprehended at the scene but was in a coma after self-inflicted knife injuries, preventing them from interrogating him.

But the force said preliminary enquiries suggested the attack was “triggered by (Fan’s) dissatisfaction with the division of property following his divorce.”