China says it will ensure people's safety, social stability after deadly hit-and-run incident

 China on Wednesday said it will make all efforts to ensure people's safety and uphold social stability following the shocking incident of a "disgruntled" man who ploughed through a crowd in Zhuhai city, killing 35 people and injuring 43 others.

According to eyewitnesses, a 62-year-old man rammed his car into a crowd of people exercising at a sports centre in Zhuhaiahead of the opening of the country's prestigious international airshow in the city in which militaries of China and foreign countries displayed some of the most advanced fighter jets and drones.

Terming the incident as an “extremely outrageous case”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian sought to assure the public, especially foreign investors and tourists, that China remained one of the safest countries in the world.

It is learned so far that no foreign national was injured or killed in this incident, he said.

"Let me point out that China is one of the safest countries with the lowest crime rate in the world. The Chinese government has always taken and will continue to take effective measures to fully protect people’s safety and uphold social stability," he said.

"We will also, as always, effectively protect the safety of all foreign nationals in China and provide a market-oriented, law-based and world-class environment for Chinese and foreign businesses," he said.

He parried questions on why the police released details almost 24 hours after the incident, saying that President Xi Jinping has issued important instructions to officials to prevent such incidents and provide treatment to the injured people.

He said, "this is an extremely outrageous case" and President Xi made important instructions to officials to ensure public safety.

Following the attack, police beefed up security at Zhuhai and stepped up investigation to probe how the driver drove his car into the secure area and mowed groups of people exercising there.

Eye witness accounts quoted by Chinese news portal Caixin said the speeding car suddenly charged towards them, "knocking down many people" injuring elderly people, as well as teenagers and children.

A Police statement said Fan, the driver who was captured, was in a “coma”. It ascribed Fan’s decision to ram down people with his car to the dissatisfaction over his repeated attempts to sue his ex-wife to settle disputes on how to split their assets.

The timing of the incident was regarded as significant as it took place a day ahead of the opening of the Chinese military’s high-profile international air show. It took place about 40 km from the venue.

Several foreign delegations and international media were in Zhuhai to attend the event.

The casualties resulting from Monday’s attack were regarded as the highest in China since the 2014 terrorist attacks in the Uygur Muslim- majority province of Xinjiang.

China has been experiencing incidents of car ramming as well as knife attacks on the public in recent months in different parts of the country randomly attributed by security officials to disgruntled people, but there is also concern here whether they signify social unrest as the slowdown of the economy resulted in job losses and business closures.