Migrant workers protest over peer's death in Zhejiang
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E-mail Xinhua, May 29, 2012
Hundreds of migrant workers gathered on Monday morning in front of the office building of a township government in east China's Zhejiang Province, protesting over a labor dispute that led to the death of a worker.
The incident started around 8 a.m. in Xianjiang township (just changed into Xianjiang neighborhood community) of Rui'an city under Wenzhou city, when a crowd of 500 to 600 migrant workers rushed to the government office building, turning over an iron fence gate, and damaging over a dozen cars with stones and bricks.
The protest ended around 11:30 a.m. as migrant workers dispersed.
Local government sources said the protest was sparked by the death of a 19-year-old migrant worker who was allegedly killed by his employer during a dispute over salary.
It is claimed that Yang Zhi, from central China's Hunan Province, was hit in the head by Xu Qiyin on May 12, when Yang tried to claim his 1,070-yuan (168.76 U.S. dollars) salary.
Yang died in hospital on Saturday, and Xu, the owner of a family workshop producing bags was detained by police on May 15.
After the incident, Wenzhou police sent more than 100 special police and riot police to the site to keep guard and maintain order.
