BEIJING — Maintenance men returning to work after a monthlong break for Chinese New Year made a horrific discovery last week when they opened the cab of a broken elevator and found the body of a woman who had been trapped inside since late January and starved to death.
The gruesome incident in the western city of Xian, renowned as the home of China’s terra-cotta warriors, has sparked outrage over the apparent negligence of the elevator repair company and the building’s management office.
The property managers told the Beijing Youth Daily that the elevator cab was returned to the first floor and taken out of service after workers had “confirmed” that no one was inside. But police investigators said workers simply shouted to check whether anyone was inside and did not open the cab to perform a visual inspection, the newsmagazine Caixin reported.
