BEIJING
Questions were being raised Wednesday into the legitimacy of the warehouse company at the center of last week's massive explosion in northern China which claimed at least 114 lives so far, and injured 690 more.
State news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that although Chinese regulations forces “dangerous” warehouses to be at least 1,000 meters away from transport hubs and public buildings "the [Tianjin] warehouse was only 560 meters away from the Vanke residential community and 630 meters from a rail station.”
On Tuesday Xinhua released the names of Tianjin Rui Hai International Logistics Co. executives - the owners of the warehouse - under police detention.
Among them are company Head Yu Xuewei, Deputy Head Dong Shexuan, General Manager Zhi Feng and Vice Manager Cao Haijun.
They are being interviewed about "false ownership”, Xinhua reported.
Although Li Liang, cousin of the company’s actual owner Yu Xuewei, was listed as the major shareholder of the company, Yu reportedly holds 55 percent of the shares.
Meanwhile, another stakeholder, Dong Shexuan, holds 45 percent of the shares through schoolmate Shu Zheng.
Dong told Xinhua that he had his schoolmate hold shares for him “because of his father”.
Yu is reported to have said that Dong's father "was a police chief and well connected in the port."
Since the blast, China’s most populated city Shanghai has launched widespread work-safety inspections for enterprises dealing with hazardous chemicals, inflammable materials and explosives.
President Xi Jinping has urged authorities to learn from the "extremely profound" lesson.
On Tuesday, Yang Dongliang, the secretary of the State Administration of Work Safety who served as vice mayor of Tianjin until May 2012, was accused of a "breach of discipline” by his previous employers.
China's cabinet of ministers, the State Council, has set up a panel to investigate the accident.
The team will "define the nature and gravity of the accident, and determine liability," according to a statement.
The investigators will also advise what punishments should be given when charges are laid.
