China war veteran, 80, sent to labour camp to be "re-educated": Son

BEIJING (AFP) - An 80 year old Chinese war veteran spent a year and a half in a "re-education" camp for trying to complain about a policeman, his son said Wednesday, the latest in a series of high-profile labour camp cases.

Mr Liu Chunshan, a veteran of the Chinese Civil War and Korean War, was sent to a "re-education through labour" camp after he visited Beijing 37 times to try to complain about a local policeman, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The dispute stemmed from rows with officers over Mr Liu's scrap metal recycling business.

Authorities in Liaoning province offered to pay Mr Liu not to visit Beijing, but sentenced him to one and a half years of "re-education through labour" after he persisted in his campaign, CCTV said. He has now been released.