A police officer in Luyi county in central China's Henan province has been fired after a video of him beating a young woman was posted on the Internet, local police said Friday.
Zhang Xianfeng, head of a police station in Zhaocun township, beat 21-year-old firework vendor Liu Yuanyuan after she refused to cooperate in an investigation regarding the illegal sale and storage of fireworks Sunday afternoon, according to Yang Jie, deputy director of the public security bureau of the city of Zhoukou, which administrates the county.
Liu Yuliang, a witness to the incident, said Zhang was drunk and did not wear his uniform when he showed up at the woman's store.
"After an investigation, we made the decision to remove Zhang from his post," Yang said.
The investigation also revealed that 226 packages of fireworks had been illegally stockpiled in the store, which lacks a proper business certificate.
The video shows Zhang pulling Liu's hair and dragging her for a short distance.
"Violence and brutality should be avoided by law enforcers," Yang added.
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