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BEIJING, April 2, 2009 (AFP) - China has launched an investigation into its detention centres after a series of prisoners died in custody, one allegedly from police torture.
The Ministry of Public Security began the three-month investigation on Wednesday, it said on its website, apparently in response to mounting public anger over the recent deaths, including those of three teenagers.
"(The campaign) will strictly implement regulations to control police officers and ensure proper conduct, conscientiously root out lagging execution of the law and weak conceptions of human rights, and other problems," it said.
Chinese prosecutors have accused police of torturing Xu Gengrong to death on March 8 in a bid to extract a confession from the teenaged boy, who was suspected of killing a fellow female student, state media said this week.
Reports also surfaced of two youths who died recently at a juvenile detention centre in central Hunan province.
Their parents have alleged police brutality as one teen had a large open wound and bruised wrists.
The official Xinhua news agency also reported on Thursday that authorities were investigating the death in police custody last week of a 50-year-old man in eastern Jiangxi province.
The issue first gained national attention with the reported death in February of Li Qiaoming, 24, after he was beaten by fellow inmates at a detention centre in southwestern Yunnan province.
Detention officers at first tried to cover up Li's death, saying he died accidentally while "playing hide-and-seek with inmates," the China Daily said.
Li's case led to calls at last month's annual session of parliament for greater protection of prison inmates and detained suspects.
In a survey published by the Chinese magazine "Juvenile Crime Research" last month, 47 percent of criminal suspects polled said they had suffered police brutality under questioning.
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