Tuesday, September 12, 2006 - 12:00 AM
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By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
The Associated Press
SHANGHAI, China — Crowds angered by alleged police mishandling of a school teacher's death attacked government offices in a southern Chinese city last week, sparking arrests and beatings by riot troops, newspapers and a local hospital said Monday.
Students and local residents of Rui'an's Tangxia township claimed police falsified a report and colluded with the husband of high-school English teacher Dai Haijing, 30, to have her death classified as a suicide, according to Hong Kong newspapers Ta Kung Pao and The South China Morning Post.
The demonstrators also staged a protest at the husband's factory, where they damaged cars and other property.
The protests reflect widespread perceptions that China's weak and largely opaque legal system is tainted by communist officials' abuse of power and susceptible to influence by the country's newly rich.
The newspaper reports and an account of the protests posted on the Internet said the students initially staged a silent protest march last week after local media published the results of the police investigation.
Demonstrations snowballed, eventually drawing thousands of participants who smashed glass and overturned cars.
Dai was found dead Aug. 18 outside her apartment, and the police report said she committed suicide by jumping from her fourth-floor apartment window.
The report said Dai had been suffering from marital problems and depression, citing entries in her journal and medication found in her apartment.
However, Dai's family and students said she showed no signs of being suicidal and had written in her journal about suffering physical abuse by her husband, Xie Delong, a wealthy local businessman.
The police report said nothing about the alleged abuse.