In an effort to curb renewed unrest in the restive northwestern city of Urumqi, China has warned that anyone convicted of using a syringe in an attack could face the death penalty.
Harsh punishment would be meted out to those found guilty of using hypodermic needles containing harmful substances as weapons, the Government said.
It also said that 7,000 officials — described as “harmony makers” — were being sent to the city to help to defuse tensions. The authorities fear that public anger over the attacks could spill over into ethnic rioting.
More than 200 people died in July during days of unrest in Urumqi between the Han Chinese and the local Uighur population. It was the most deadly riot in China for 50 years and security in the city remains tight.
In an attempt to defuse the situation, two top ruling Communist Party officials were dismissed on Saturday after three days of protests over the attacks left five people dead last week. Thousands marched in the city on Thursday to demand better protection after a spate of assaults involving hypodermic needles.
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Residents called for further action yesterday after it emerged that 530 people had been treated in hospital in the last few weeks for injuries that they claimed to have sustained after being stabbed by needles.
Officials said that some of the injuries may have been mosquito bites. The authorities also emphasised that both Uighurs and Han had been victims of the attacks. No one is believed to have been seriously injured or contracted a disease from the attacks.
In one case two drug addicts, a Uighur man and woman, are alleged to have threatened a taxi driver with a syringe before robbing him. In another, the city prosecutor said, police were assaulted by a Uighur, 47, with a syringe containing heroin.
Meng Jiangzu, China’s Public Security Minister, has said that the attacks are a continuation of July’s unrest. Up to 25 people are believed to have been detained in connection with the attacks.
Government lorries mounted with loudspeakers toured the streets telling residents that the bizarre attacks were part of an organised separatist plot to spread terror. Last week thousands of Han Chinese gathered in Urumqi’s central square to demand better protection from the authorities, and the resignations of the region’s top police official, Wang Lequan, and the city’s party secretary, Li Zhi.
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Mr Wang was shouted down after attempting to address the protesters. Both officials have now been dismissed. Mr Wang has said that the protests were triggered after four people stabbed a Han Chinese woman with needles in one of the city’s shopping areas. Local residents warned that the authorities may not yet have done enough to placate the restive population.
Thousands of armed police remain a visible presence in the city. They conducted spot searches of pedestrians’ bags in the traditionally Uighur area of Urumqi.
The ethnic make-up of the city of 1.8 million is evenly split between Turkic-speaking Uighurs, who are Muslims, and make up most of the region’s population, and the Han, China’s dominant ethnic group.