Xinyu officials punished for fire that killed 39 people, injured 9

Fifty-five officials were punished after they were found responsible for the fire that killed 39 people and injured nine in January at a building complex in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, according to a notice released by the provincial discipline inspection commission and supervisory commission on Wednesday.

Among them, three are under investigation for serious violations of discipline and laws as well as duty-related crimes, including Ding Xiaorong, the head of the Yuanhe branch of the Xinyu fire rescue team. Meanwhile, Deng Yuanqing, the former director of the civil air defense office in Xinyu and Gong Yuxin, the former official at the urban development service center in Xinyu have been transferred to procuratorial authorities for review and prosecution according to law.

Additionally, 52 officials from relevant departments who were linked to negligence and dereliction of duty in the incident were also punished.

Zheng Guangquan, Party secretary of Xinyu, was given a severe disciplinary warning within the Communist Party of China while Xu Hong, the deputy Party secretary and mayor of Xinyu, was removed from his posts, both in the Party and in government.

Other officials who were removed from their posts include Jian Huafeng, the head of Yushui district where the accident happened, Zeng Xianfeng, the director of Xinyu's education bureau, Lin Xiangzhong, the deputy director of the housing and urban-rural development bureau and Zhou Zhirong, the director of the Tiangong Road Police Station of the Yushui Branch of the Xinyu Public Security Bureau.

Previous investigations showed that the fire was caused by the illegal construction of a cold storage facility in the basement of the building complex, resulting in casualties and a direct economic loss of more than 43.52 million yuan ($6.17 million).

Victims included people who were inside a hotel, as well as students and teachers having classes at an educational training institution there.

Furthermore, 10 individuals suspected of serious accident liability crimes are under investigation by the public security authorities and were arrested by procuratorial authorities.

They include Wu Hegen, the legal representative of Xinyu Ningshuang Refrigeration Equipment, Liu Jinhan, the legal representative of Xinyu Boyi Education Consulting and Zhang Jiansheng, the legal representative and operator of Juxinyuan Hotel.