A Chinese official has been sacked for negligence, video game addiction and other offences, officials said, after a woman was barred from admission to hospitals due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Li Qiang, director of the medical emergency center in the historic city of Xi’an, was among officials reprimanded in January for the scandal that sparked debate about the excesses of Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy.
Footage of a pregnant woman’s traumatic experience went viral on Chinese social media, sparking widespread public outcry.
The provincial party watchdog alleged negligence and corruption in a statement on Tuesday, saying Li had now been removed from his post, fired from the ruling Communist Party and placed under criminal investigation.
The statement added that Lee was “gravely irresponsible, triggering a series of major incidents that sparked negative public opinion online and created a bad social impact”.
It also alleged that Lee embezzled public funds, accepted bribes and had a “long-term addiction to smartphone games”.
The Chinese government sees video and mobile games as a source of moral corruption and has taken steps in recent years to limit young players’ screen time and control unwanted content.
The statement said Lee’s alleged illegal profits have been forfeited and he is now under criminal investigation.
China is the last major economy to commit to stamping all household goods coronavirus Infection using a combination of mass testing, stringent lockdowns and travel restrictions.
But public anger over heavy-handed enforcement of restrictions has grown in recent months, with several cases of people failing to receive medical treatment because they were denied admission to hospitals because of Covid regulations.
Virus control has also prompted rare protests, including in the capital Beijing and Shanghai, where residents scuffled with dangerous-friendly officials during a prolonged lockdown this spring.
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