China charges death-crash Liangzhu police chief

A Chinese police chief accused of causing a fatal traffic accident while driving drunk has been charged with endangering public safety - a crime that carries the death penalty. Wang Yinpeng apparently crashed his car into two lampposts, which then fell and killed five people at a bus stop. Liangzhu township in central Henan province erupted in protests after news of the incident spread on Saturday. Residents reportedly overturned a police car and wrecked a bus. Riot police were drafted in to quell the protests. There are thousands of riots every year in China, often sparked by anger at local officials and corruption. State media played down the riots, with official agency Xinhua reporting only that there was a "public outcry" on the internet after images of "gruesome scenes" were posted. Mr Wang, head of the police station in Liangzhu, was arrested after the incident. Four people died at the scene and another died in hospital. Three more people were treated for injuries in hospital. Officials told the China Daily newspaper that local authorities would compensate the wounded and the families of those killed.