Missing teacher found buried under school sports field
A teacher who disappeared after refusing to sign off on a secondary school’s poorly-built sporting field has been found buried under it 16 years later.
Deng Shiping, who was also in charge of taking care of facilities and maintenance at the school, refused to sign off on the field as he felt the construction was sub par.
Contractors who were paid in 2013 to build the new field and track, and who were also relatives of the school’s principal, have allegedly admitted to murdering the staff member after being arrested on corruption charges recently.
The remains of Deng Shiping were dug up from under the running track of Xinhuang No 1 Middle School on June 19, according to authorities in the city of Huaihua in Central China’s Hunan Province.
Social media footage shows police officers having cordoned off the field, with one investigator appearing to be examining a human skull.
Mr Deng, who was aged 52 or 53 at the time of his disappearance, worked at the secondary school as a services manager.
He was tasked with overseeing the building of the new sports field 16 years ago.
According to his family, however Mr Deng believed the principal’s relatives had cut corners and he therefore refused to sign off their work.
“The field and track was being built by the principal’s relatives. He believed there to be serious build quality concerns, and that they were cutting corners,” Mr Deng’s brother told local media.
“He refused to sign off on the work and reported it to the county government. Then he disappeared.”
The Huaihua Public Security Bureau confirmed in a statement on June 20 the remains found under the running track belonged to Mr Deng who had been missing since 2003.
“We had long suspected that his disappearance was linked to his being a whistleblower,” Mr Deng’s brother added.
Authorities say more than 10 suspects have been arrested in the ongoing corruption probe.
The suspects allegedly admitted to murdering and burying Deng under the field for threatening to expose them.
It was still unclear at the time of publication whether the school principal was implicated in any crimes.
– Australscope
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