Lawmaker's unauthorized construction leads to cave-in in Beijing   

徐州人大代表在京偷挖地下室曾致3名工人身亡

昨天上午，发生塌陷的德内大街93号院被围挡包围着，院内一片狼藉，塌陷后的深坑已基本回填，用于填平深坑的混凝土超过4000吨。市规划委就坍塌一事回应称，该院业主挖洞属于违规。西城区对此表示，目前还未联系上该院业主，市规划委曾要求其停工整改。[查看全文]

A building collapse in downtown Beijing on Saturday was caused by unauthorized construction work on a property belonging to a lawmaker from Xuzhou City in Jiangsu, sources said on Wednesday.

The Beijing planning commission said Li Baojun had built a basement about 18 meters deep in his Beijing courtyard without first obtaining a construction permit, which caved in and caused the road and surrounding buildings to collapse.

People living near Li's residence said they had reported the building work to the relevant authorities but officials had seemed powerless to stop the Xuzhou lawmaker .

The 15 residents of the four collapsed houses are currently staying in hotels.

Li is also the president of a company in Xuzhou, said sources who declined to be named.