The official, surnamed Zhou, travelled from the capital, Guiyang , to
Wengan county yesterday afternoon and notified the parents of
15-year-old Li Shufen that three suspects had offered to pay 3,000 yuan
each to "compensate" for the loss suffered by Li Xiuhua and his wife,
Luo Pingbi .

One of the suspects is related to a senior government official.

"We will never accept an evil deal like this," Mr Li said. "We need to
seek justice for our daughter."

Mr Zhou also ordered the parents to send their daughter's body to the
mortuary in the nearby town of Duyun for cremation.

Shufen's body is being kept in a refrigerated coffin after being found
on a riverbank 10 days ago.

The parents said they would guard the coffin day and night for fear
local police might take it in an attempt to conceal evidence.

They said there had already been two attempts to steal the body - last
Tuesday and on Saturday. More than 10,000 angry locals rioted, setting
fire to government buildings and a police car to protest against the
handling of the girl's death.

Police said their investigation showed Shufen had jumped into the river
to commit suicide, but relatives believe she was raped, murdered and
dumped into the river by the three suspects.

The parents said an official had told them: "Don't even try to file a
lawsuit; there's no justice in this world."

More than 100 local residents are helping the parents guard the coffin.

"The 9,000 yuan offer is outrageous," one man said. "None of us would
accept this. How can murderers get away with this?"

Mr Li said: "She received three phone calls from them that night, and at
first she didn't want to go out because it's too dangerous for girls to
go out after 7pm in this place."

The Guizhou Daily, the provincial mouthpiece of the Communist Party,
reported yesterday: "The county police bureau has conducted a careful
investigation according to the law, but unfortunately the victim's
family was emotionally too unstable to accept the finding.

"A few criminals then took advantage of the situation and instigated a
massive riot."

The situation in Wengan county remained tense yesterday, with a heavy
police presence. Local TV and radio repeatedly played broadcasts warning
rioters to turn themselves in.

Police have arrested nearly 300 protesters, including Li Xiuzhong , the
victim's uncle, who was severely beaten by local officers when he tried
to protest, according to the Information Centre for Human Rights and
Democracy, based in Hong Kong.

More than 2,000 police officers have been viewing video to determine who
took part in the riot.

The uncle, a schoolteacher, had disappeared from Wengan People's
Hospital and was probably detained by local police, the rights group said.

It quoted the uncle's doctor as saying he still needed a lot of
treatment and had not been properly checked out of the hospital.