Chinese Police Blues.

BEIJING - Police facing emotional strains due to financial or romantic problems could be stripped of their department-issued handguns in China's Jiangxi province, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The public security bureau in the province will begin inspections this month to make sure officers who have received administrative punishments, or are under investigation, will not be able to carry firearms, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

Guns would also be retrieved from "officers who are suffering from serious illnesses or face psychological and emotional instability resulting from love or marriage frustrations and heavy debt," the newspaper reported, citing an announcement from the Jiangxi public security bureau.

Police officers carry guns in China but several mishaps have led to a debate over whether tighter restrictions are needed to govern when officers can use lethal force.

Last November, a doctor in the southern city of Guangzhou was shot dead by patrolling officers when he resisted police attempts to inspect his car.

A district police chief, allegedly disgruntled about his demotion, shot dead a deputy Communist Party boss of Hohhot city in Inner Mongolia in February.

Source : Reuters, Beijing Newsroom (10 avril 2008).