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China says coronavirus whistleblower doctor's punishment was unjust, gets slammed: 'Go apologize at his grave'

Dr Li Wenliang was among a group of doctors in China's virus epicenter who alerted the world and died after contracting the disease
PUBLISHED MAR 20, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

An investigation conducted by the Chinese government found out on March 20 that police in Wuhan had acted "inappropriately" by punishing a doctor who alerted the world about the coronavirus outbreak in the region.

34-year-old Li Wenliang, now hailed as a whistleblower hero, was among a group of doctors in China's virus epicenter, who shared a post on social media in December, warning people in the country of a SARS-like virus spreading in the region.

Doctor Wenliang, however, was punished by police for sharing the information on social media and was made to sign a statement agreeing not to commit any more "law-breaking actions." The doctor, however, contracted the deadly coronavirus while treating other patients and succumbed to the disease last month. His death triggered an outpour of grief and anger at the government's handling of the crisis, with many demanding freedom of speech in the country.

After immense backlash and government investigation, police issued an apology, which drew further criticism on social media site Weibo, with users saying it was too late for that.

The investigation into Li's death found that Wuhan police had "acted inappropriately by issuing a disciplinary letter" and took "irregular law enforcement procedures," state broadcaster CCTV reported, according to the Daily Mail

A portrait of Dr Li Wenliang is left at Li's hospital in Wuhan on February 07,2020 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Dr Li, regarded a whistleblower on the pneumonia outbreak, died of the novel coronavirus (Getty Images)

The probe also found that the doctor's colleagues had made repeated attempts to resuscitate him before he was declared dead because he was "very young" to have died of the virus. His colleagues told the investigators that "as long as there was a bit of hope we were unwilling to give up, at the time there were no other factors."

The central government investigators, in the conclusion of their report, suggested that Wuhan authorities "supervise and rectify the matter," and urged local police to revoke the disciplinary statement issued to Li. The region police later admitted that the disciplinary statement against Li was "wrong" and they were revoking it as they "apologize to his family for the mistake."

Zhongnan Road police station's deputy director was given a "demerit" on his record and the officer on duty was given an "administrative warning" over their decision, the report stated. It is not common for Chinese authorities to admit such wrongdoings, however, Beijing has sought to direct criticism of poor handling of the virus crisis in the country onto provincial officials, many of whom, have been fired.

People attend a vigil to mourn for doctor Li Wenliang on February 7, 2020 in Hong Kong, China (Getty Images)

As officials recorded their apology, multiple social media users in China expressed their discontent, saying it was not good enough. One user on Weibo wrote: "Go and apologize in front of the person's grave." While another said: "This apology has come too late, Wenliang can't hear it."

State media had initially reported Wenliang's death, however, those reports were quickly deleted from the internet. Multiple social media users, however, caught on and took to Weibo in droves to mourn Wenliang, and also accused hospital authorities at Wuhan Central Hospital of inappropriately attempting to resuscitate him after he had already died. His death was officially announced hours later. 

Coronavirus claimed lives of 3,248 people in China and infected 80,967 people in the region. The deadly virus has now spread to all the major countries in the world, with the global toll steadily rising.

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