Two officials, including a municipal Party chief, were removed from their posts on Saturday for "mishandling a mass incident" triggered by a chef's death, local authorities in Shishou city, central China's Hubei Province said Saturday.

Zhong Ming, Secretary of the Shishou city committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Tang Dunwu, a party official in charge of law enforcement work in Shishou, were sacked for their improper decision on handling the incident.

A 24-year-old cook, Tu Yuangao, was found lying dead at the gate of a hotel in Shishou on the evening of June 17. Police found no suspicious injuries and concluded the man had killed himself by falling from a high building. Tu's family and the public, however, were not convinced, and online rumors emerged.

Shishou officials did not act until after about 80 hours of silence, fueling rampant rumors which resulted in an unrest when angry locals obstructed two streets, burnt the hotel and smashed several vehicles.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2009)