Ex-prisoner's commutations examined after being linked to man's death

A joint team has been established to examine a case in which a now-released prisoner's multiple commutations in prison are being questioned, Beijing municipal government said on Tuesday.

The team, led by the capital's Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China, was formed after the former inmate, surnamed Guo, came into the public eye following an alleged killing during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

At about 3 pm on March 14, Guo quarreled with a 72-year-old man surnamed Duan. Duan reminded Guo, who took his mask off when waiting to pay in a supermarket in the city's Dongcheng district, to wear the mask and abide by the rules for epidemic control, according to a statement from the Beijing People's Procuratorate.

Guo was unhappy with Duan and hit Duan's head and neck after pushing him on the ground, injuring Duan, it said, adding that Guo was finally caught in the market after injuring two other staff members while trying to escape from the scene.

Duan was sent to a hospital, but died on March 20 from a head injury, it said.

On Saturday, the No 2 branch of the Beijing People's Procuratorate said it had detained Guo for alleged intentional injury, it added.

As the case hit Chinese media headlines, Guo's identity also was heatedly discussed, especially when it was discovered his sentence had been reduced nine times over the past few years.

Caixin media reported on Sunday that Guo, a 37-year-old Beijing native, was sentenced to life in prison in February 2005 for killing his girlfriend. About two years later, his sentence was cut to 19 years and then he frequently got commutations, it said.

The frequency of the commutations quickly aroused public attention, with some questioning why Guo could receive them so frequently.

In response to the questioning, the municipal government assembled the inspection team and has demanded the procuratorate, the Prison Management Bureau, the High People's Court and the city's Justice Bureau examine Guo's commutations.

The government added it would disclose the result in a timely manner after the investigation ends.