China holds 2 over baby death amid 1-child anger

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A Chinese official and a driver have been held on suspicion of manslaughter after a baby boy was run over and killed by a family planning agency car, authorities said Thursday amid online anger over the one-child policy.

The death of the 13-month-old triggered outrage both over the brutality of law enforcement in the country and the population control measures.

In the incident a total of 12 officials were confronting a family - who already had two daughters - in Ruian in the eastern province of Zhejiang, demanding that they pay a fine for the birth of the boy.

"We were required to pay 30,000 to 40,000 yuan ($4,800 to $6,400)...," Chen Liandi, the father, was quoted as saying.

The father was holding the baby in his arms but dropped him when a local Communist Party leader surnamed Bai stopped him from entering a vehicle to join his wife, the local authority said Thursday.

He was unable to pull the baby out of its path, it added.

Both Bai and a driver named Cheng have been detained by police on suspicion of negligent manslaughter, said a statement on 66ruian.com, a site run by the local government.

The maximum penalty for negligent manslaughter is seven years in prison.

The incident has provoked widespread anger on social media.

"They lost their humanity for money. They must be severely punished," said a user of the Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog, adding terms of personal abuse.

Under China's population controls most couples who have more than one child must pay a "social upbringing" fine, while in some cases mothers have been forced to undergo abortions.