A lawyer approached by the family of a doctor who was shot dead by police in Guangzhou early on Tuesday has demanded police allow full access to a key witness to the event and called for a fully independent inquiry.

Wang Yalin, a prominent lawyer in the victim's hometown in east China's Anhui Province, said, "Their (the investigation team's) attitude is not right, and has only fueled speculation about the incident."

Neurosurgeon Yin Fangming, 43, was shot dead by a policeman after an early morning confrontation in the city of Guangzhou, where he worked in a hospital.

The Guangzhou city government has set up a joint investigation team -- comprised of officials from the public security bureau, the procuratorial office, and the Haizhou district government and Guangzhou city's political and legislative affairs committee -- and promised a "serious and fair" inquiry into the shooting.

The lawyer told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the investigation team needed to publish their findings so far immediately, and said the police "control" of Wang Yanming, a friend of the dead man, for more than 60 hours since the shooting was "illegal".

Wang Jun, the witness's brother, had been allowed to speak to Wang Yanming for three minutes on Wednesday, but both had been prevented from discussing Yin's death, according to local media reports. The witness was said to be "helping the investigation" at the municipal procuratorate office.

Wang Yalin said the dead man's family had asked him to represent them, but he had not yet been formally retained.

"Judging from the information provided by the victim's family and information on the Internet, the situation is still not clear. I'm only providing counsel and advice to the family, and I'm ready to represent them when needed," he said.

Physician Yin Fangming, 43, who was described by colleagues at the city's Zhujiang Hospital as "good-natured", was shot once through the heart.

Wang Yalin, a lawyer with the King A&P Lawyer Firm, based in Hefei, capital of Anhui, has represented several defendants in criminal cases, including Wang Huaizhong, a former provincial vice-governor who was convicted and sentenced to death on corruption charges in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2007)