Driver arrested for killing farmer over land dispute

ZHENGZHOU - A procuratorial organ has approved the arrest of a driver for allegedly killing a farmer in Central China's Henan province over a land dispute, the local government said Tuesday.

Zhongmou county government said in a statement that Wang Shengdong, the driver of a shovel truck, is accused of negligent homicide.

On March 27, farmer Song Heyi from Xichungang village, Yaojia Township in Zhongmou county, was crushed to death by the shovel truck after it rolled over.

Song was not satisfied with a land compensation package offered by Henan Hongyi Agricultural Technology Company in a construction project near his village.

The 27-year-old driver told a Xinhua reporter after his detention by police on Friday that he did not have a license to drive the shovel truck, and did not deliberately crush Song. He said the collision was a result of a blind spot when reversing the vehicle.

Details of the case went viral online after a microblog featuring a picture of a bloodied body under a shovel truck was uploaded on Thursday.

Internet comments grew more intense when a similar incident occurred in central Hubei province on March 30 when a female farmer was killed by a cement truck tank. Zhang Ruqiong, 44, was a farmer in Xibiantang village, Badong and engaged in a land compensation dispute.

A provincial expressway under construction linking Yichang and Badong in Hubei was the cause of the dispute.

The driver of the cement tank was detained on Sunday on suspicion of intentional homicide. Relatives of Zhang agreed on Tuesday to receive 850,000 yuan ($137,039) in compensation from the construction company of the highway.

Hubei local government said the cause of the incident is being investigated.