Victim of excessive force denies writing apology letter

A victim of excessive force carried out by urban management officers has denied that an open letter of apology published under his name was actually written by him.

The incident, which occurred between a bike seller named Liu Guofeng in Ya'an city situated in Northwest China's Shaanxi province came under the spotlight after a photo depicting an urban management officer jumping on his head went viral online..

The photo triggered widespread outcry from the online community which finally led to the suspension of eight officers and employees from the urban management department and also garnered a face-to-face apology from the department's chief.

However, a public letter claiming to be from Liu stating an apology to the urban management officers again ignited an online uproar with many people doubting its authenticity.

Amid the public speculation, Liu told City Information Daily, a Shandong-based newspaper, that he did not write the letter. "It was not my intention," said Liu. "It is not proper to say more (about this letter)," he added.

The letter was published online June 7, one week after the incident on May 31, which also stated that Liu was satisfied with how the incident was addressed and that he should also be held responsible for what happened.

"Don't negate the revolutionary holy site image of Ya'an just because of this incident," the letter claimed, which had Liu’s name on it.