Death of missing teen is not suspicious, says Chinese police

• The body of Hu Xinyu, 15, was found near his school in Jiangxi province.
• Hu had not been located despite massive police searches.
• Which had drawn criticism from several quarters.

There are no suspicious circumstances behind the death of a Chinese teen whose body was discovered close to his school last week, more than 100 days after he went missing.

This puts an end to a high-profile case that had the country’s attention.

In October, 15-year-old Hu Xinyu disappeared from a private high school in Jiangxi province, south-east China.

On the Chinese internet, his absence rose to the top of the most talked-about subjects, raising concerns about what happened to him.

Hu Mansong, the deputy police head of Jiangxi province, gave a lengthy summary of the police enquiry into Hu’s murder during a news conference on Thursday.

This was exceptionally thorough by Chinese government norms. He also accepted criticism from the public for the flaws in the way the government conducted searches.

Hu had not been located despite massive police searches, which had drawn criticism from several quarters.

Before his body was discovered by a member of the public, the operations spanned over 40 hectares (0.4 square kilometers) of woodland surrounding the school campus.

Sniffer dogs, drones, and thermal imaging equipment were used, along with the mobilization of thousands of individuals.

The boy’s abduction has been the subject of numerous unfounded stories in recent months, reflecting widespread popular mistrust of Chinese authorities, which is in part due to a lack of government transparency and years of deteriorating censorship.

According to the deputy police chief, on Thursday, officers detained one person for disseminating a video with fake information and disciplined three others administratively for doing the same.

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