China moves to sack officials blamed for riot

BEIJING (Reuters) - China moved to sack two law-and-order officials blamed for mishandling a riot in the country's southwest, saying that broader abuses of power lay behind the mass outrage, state media reported on Friday.

The eruption of thousands of protesters in Weng'an county in Guizhou province on Saturday came as China seeks to quell any symptoms of unrest ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Residents torched a police headquarters and many vehicles, demanding justice after claims spread that police had covered up as a suicide the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl.

Police have denied that relatives of officials had anything to do with the girl's death and said she killed herself by jumping into a river. They have also promised a fresh autopsy.

But with officials now acknowledging that the anger reflected broader lapses in policing, province authorities announced the dismissal of Shen Guirong, the public security chief of Weng'an, and Luo Laiping, chief of the county's legal affairs committee.

Their dismissal must be approved by the county's people's congress and party committee, a formality in China's top-down political system.

The Communist Party secretary of Guizhou, Shi Zongyuan, said officials had mishandled public tensions over mining development, housing demolitions and resident resettlement, Xinhua reported.

"In handling these conflicts, disputes and mass incidents, some officials acted crudely, had simplistic work methods and even arbitrarily wielded police force," Shi told officials, according to Xinhua.

Shi said Weng'an authorities had mobilized police to quell public complaints that should have been defused by officials, and police had allowed crime to spread unchecked.

"This incident may appear to be random, but in fact it was inevitable," Shi said, adding that the county leaders bore "unshirkable responsibility."

Xinhua said about 30,000 people took part in the protest and 150 police and residents were injured, but there were no deaths. More than 40 vehicles were torched. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Valerie Lee)