Local official goes missing after debt rumors

The Chenzhou Agricultural Machinery Bureau published a missing persons notice in the Chenzhou Daily seeking its deputy chief Wang Changhong, who had been missing for months, according to Xinmin net.

Wang's disappearance has been widely discussed in Chenzhou, Central China's Hunan province, and local authorities pledged to investigate it.

The Chenzhou Agricultural Machinery Bureau said the local court was looking for Wang, who was sued for allegedly owing 200,000 yuan in debt this February. One of Wang's lenders, a man surnamed Yi, said Wang once borrowed 300,000 yuan from him and that the total amount of Wang's debt was about 3 million or 4 million yuan, most of which was used for business investments.

Wang's mother also told a reporter she heard a rumor that her son owed some interest, but did not know the specific amount of money.

On Dec 9, she gave Chenzhou Agricultural Machinery Bureau a note requesting a leave for Wang, which said he needed to go away to recuperate.

Wang has not been heard from since Nov 29, when Wang's colleague Dai Hengxuan failed to contact him by phone. Dai reported Wang's missing status to Chenzhou Agricultural Machinery Bureau the next day, and the bureau set up a team to look for its missing deputy chief.

The Organization Department of Chenzhou Municipal Party committee said Wang should be dismissed according to the civil service law and could be expelled from the Party next.