a231  1253  16 Nov 86
AM-BRF--China-Detention,0148
Official Sentenced for Torturing Villagers Over Bicycle Bell
    PEKING (AP) - A former local Communist Party official was sentenced
to four years in prison on charges he illegally detained 72 villagers
and tortured several because his bicycle bell was stolen, the party
newspaper said Sunday.
    Li Jiyin, 47, enraged over the theft of the bell in December 1984,
had security officers of Hengshan village in Shanxi province question
85 people the next day, the People's Daily said.
    The report said 72 of them were held illegally and several were
tortured.
    It said Yang Jishun, deputy head of village security, was sentenced
to three years in prison.
    The sentencing Saturday of Li and Yang came amid a campaign to
vigorously prosecute officials who illegally detain citizens. The
government earlier reported 949 cases of illegal detention nationwide
in the first half of 1986.
    
AP-NY-11-16-86 1551EST
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