China ex-village chief wanted in shooting kills self

BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) A disgraced village chief in northern China, wanted by police for killing four rivals after losing elections, has committed suicide after he was surrounded by police, the official Xinhua news agency said today.

Ning Yongfeng was at a hideout in Langfang city, Hebei province, when he shot himself yesterday, Xinhua said.

Police recovered a hunting rifle and seven bullets, it said without giving further details.

Ning had gone into hiding after shooting and killing the four victims, including two members of the newly elected village committee, in Langfang, about 50 kilometres east of Beijing, last Saturday.

He had stepped down in March after being accused by villagers of abusing his power, including allegations of corruption and secretly storing guns at home, according to media.

Police dispatched more than 600 officers to search more than 60 villages for Ning and had offered a 50,000 yuan reward for information about Ning's whereabouts.

China launched tentative ''grassroots democracy'' experiments to allow villagers to directly vote for their heads in the late 1980s, but elections have been plagued by problems such as corruption and the influence of local clans.

Gun crimes are rare in China, which sharply restricts gun possession.

Reuters SLD DB0907