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Man blows himself up over $660 unpaid wages

  • Story Highlights
  • Man seeking $660 in unpaid wages detonates bomb in China's northwest
  • Han Washun and two others killed in the blast, Xinhua news agency says
  • Police said Han had sued company for money, but lost case
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(CNN) -- A man seeking about $660 in unpaid wages walked into an office building in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi on Thursday and detonated a bomb, killing himself and injuring two employees, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Police said 42-year-old Han Washun arrived at the downtown building housing the Xinjiang Beixin Road and Bridge Construction Co. around 1 p.m. with a black bag, apparently containing explosives, Xinhua reported.

Before the bomb exploded, Han threatened office workers and demanded that he be paid 4,500 yuan (U.S. $662), the news agency said. Police said Han had sued the company for the money, but lost the case in July.

"Han walked into the first floor of the building, and talked to an office worker, saying, 'Society is unfair. I don't want to live any more,'" police said, according to Xinhua. He wanted to talk with the head of the company.

The office workers who were injured were trapped in a room with Han, and tried to reason with him, police said. A third worker escaped.

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