A state assets management official who died last Wednesday after falling from her 20th-story apartment was "performing official duties honestly," said the Organization Department of Huangpu District on Saturday.

The department, which manages Communist Party officials, praised Shen Zhengjuan as "a person of decency" and "an official who showed true conviction to her job." Shen, 50, was director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission in Huangpu District.

The reasons for Shen's death, believed to be suicide, remain unclear. Shen fell from her apartment on the last day of 2008 when she was supposed to attend a day-long meeting of the district government. Later that day, the district media office said Shen had been staying at home recently for health reasons, and her death might be related to those health issues. District police have ruled out homicide.

However, Beijing-based Caijing Magazine quoted an unnamed insider as saying Shen had also been "invited for a coffee" by the Party's disciplinary watchdog during its investigation of Chen Liangyu, Shanghai's former party chief who was involved in embezzling social security funds. "Invited for a coffee" is a common euphemism used to describe a summons by Party discipline authorities to discuss possible involvement in crimes such as corruption or bribery.

"After having the talk with the inspection team, she seldom went to the canteen," the unidentified insider said. "Instead she always brought meals to work. She looked stressed out. She was loyal to friends, a good person who also worked very hard. She was not a person who cared about fame or fortune. Everybody feels terrible about her death."

Shen was reported to have left a suicide note for her family, in which she said she faced great pressures at work, Xinhua news agency reported.

A neighbor of Shen's, who is retired but used to work for Huangpu District government, said he didn't believe that Shen could be involved in anything illegal.

The neighbor showed Shanghai Daily a message on his cell phone, sent from a district government official, a colleague of Shen's, which said: "(Her death) tugged at my heartstrings. I was thinking of setting her up as a model official."

The neighbor also described Shen as a professional and capable official. "She was popular among colleagues, but seldom got dressed up."

Shen's funeral is being prepared. A date has not been set, according to Liu Ruixing, media coordinator of the district government.

(Shanghai Daily January 5, 2009)