A local official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shaoshan, a city in central China's Hunan Province, has been detained for his involvement in a fatal traffic accident last month, local police confirmed on Tuesday.

Liu Yahui, deputy secretary of the CPC Shaoshan committee and secretary of the committee's disciplinary commission, has also been suspended from his official posts.
  
Liu is accused of running over a man, causing fatal injuries, and fleeing the scene of the accident.

On the evening of November 27, a motorcycle and Liu's car were moving toward each other on the road when the motorcycle knocked a pedestrian down. Liu, who said that he was dazzled by the lights of the motorcycle, ran over the man who was lying in the road.

Witnesses said Liu got out of his car, asked passers-by what happened and then left the scene without properly reporting the incident or rendering assistance to the man he hit. The victim later died in the hospital.

Forensic experts and doctors said that the blow from the motorcycle injured the man, but Liu's car delivered the fatal blow, fracturing the victim's ribs and damaging his liver and kidney.

Liu was also reported to have washed his car after leaving the scene.

Liu said that he "felt very sorry and regretful and was willing to accept punishment."

The motorcycle driver and his passenger, a hitchhiker, also fled the scene and have since been apprehended.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2004)