Disabled man triggers blast at Beijing airport

A Chinese man in a wheelchair, reportedly aggrieved over being assaulted by police, on Saturday set off an explosion at Beijing International Airport, injuring himself and causing panic.

Ji Zhongxing, 34, reportedly paralysed in a beating by police, set off an explosive device made from materials used in firecrackers.

He detonated the device after he was stopped from handing out leaflets to draw attention to his complaints.

Ji was wounded, but suffered no life-threatening injuries and is currently being treated in hospital, state-run media said.

Pictures of Ji on Sina Weibo microblogging site -- showing him throwing up his arms with a white object in his hand -- went viral soon after the explosion at 6.24 pm local time.

The explosion created panic in the airport.

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Ji, hailing from north eastern Shandong province, fell off the wheelchair and sustained injuries.

Reports said Ji set off the explosion to highlight the violent treatment allegedly meted out to him by police that resulted in his paralysis.

He reportedly set off the low-intensity device at the arrival terminal, where there are fewer security checks, to highlight his plight.

His identification scotched rumours that the blast was a terrorist attack.

The police cordon at the arrivals terminal exit was later removed and the airport resumed normal services, Xinhua reported.

State-run CCTV reported that soon after the explosion, some Uygur Muslims from restive Xinjiang province were stopped from travelling in the airport.

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Xinjiang has been witnessing riots and militant attacks during the past few years as the Uygurs have been protesting about the increasing settlements of Han Chinese.

Chinese police in recent months have claimed to have foiled hijacking attempts by the separatist East Turkisatan Islamic Movement, (ETIM) which has become active in the province in recent years.

He was reportedly beaten by police when he was petitioning about personal problem in the past.

There is however no confirmation about the China has been witnessing violent attacks by disgruntled public aggrieved by police highhandedness.

Last month, a Chinese man ignited a bus with gasoline in Xiamen city killing himself and 46 others.

He was aggrieved over denial of pension.

The government suspended six police officials in Chenzhou city for beating a watermelon vendor to death when he attempted to sell fruits at a forbidden spot.

Hundreds of petitioners who flock to Beijing are meted out rough treatment by police to prevent them from accessing top officials and leaders.