Several public officials punished for dereliction of duty in Guangxi

Several public officials in Fangchenggang, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, have been held accountable for dereliction of duty in handling a recent incident where a female driver used an administrative law enforcement certificate to force another car to yield, local authorities said.

The incident occurred on July 22 near Fangcheng district in the city of Fangchenggang, where a woman surnamed Hou became involved in a dispute with another driver surnamed Li. She presented a law enforcement certificate during the argument, demanding that Li yield the right of way.

Li later filed a complaint with local police and sent videos online, which garnered millions of viewers. Then, two police officers visited his parents' home and told them that Li should delete the videos and apologize to Hou for violating Hou's privacy.

The case attracted widespread attention, prompting a police investigation. Authorities confirmed on Aug 3 that Hou was not a public official but an enterprise employee, and that the certificate belonged to her husband, a firefighter at a local station.

Hou has been placed under administrative detention for five days for illegally using her husband's law enforcement certificate, which violated the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, according to a statement released on Saturday by an investigation team established by the local government.

Hou's husband, surnamed Li, has been given a Party warning and had his law enforcement certificate revoked for failing to properly safeguard the document, which led to its misuse by his spouse, the statement said.

Six public officials, including the director of the Fangcheng branch of the Fangchenggang public security bureau, have received disciplinary punishment, including Party warning, admonition, and are required to submit written self-criticism for deficiencies in case handling or supervisory negligence, according to the statement.

A staff member at the publicity department of the Fangchenggang public security bureau was also criticized for improperly answering a reporter's phone call.