Thousands attack Chengguan officials

Thousands of local residents gathered in a town in East China Saturday after an online rumor claimed that a peddler was beaten to death by city enforcement officials, or Chengguan.

Crowds began to gather in Lingxi Town, Cangnan County, Wenzhou City of Zhejiang province, after the peddler was beaten around 9 am. The county government later denied the rumor that the man surnamed Huang was dead, saying he was in stable condition after hospital treatment.

Infuriated by the online rumor, the mob managed to besiege an official van and began beating the five employees inside the vehicle. Two of them were injured seriously and are in critical condition.

Local government said the five officials were not formal employees, but temporary helpers.

At around 4 pm, police intervened and tried to disperse the crowd, but was only able to restore order by 8 pm.