A doctor has said the victim of a fatal game, blind man's bluff, in a detention house in Yunnan Province suffered a head injury which was more likely caused by strong external force than accidentally hitting a door frame.

The doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Xinmin Weekly that doctors at Kunming No. 1 People's Hospital operated on Li Qiaoming immediately, but he died the next day.

Li had a five-centimeter-wide cut on his head.

The registration form at the hospital's mortuary indicated that Li died as the result of an accident, the report said.

The unnamed doctor said serious skull damage was the only reason for Li's death and the injury was due to a strong external force.

An accidental hit or fall could not have led to such serious damage, the doctor said.

Li, 24, was detained on January 30 for illegally cutting down trees. He died on February 12 in the hospital due to severe brain injuries.

Police said Li was accidentally injured when he ran into a wall blindfolded during a game with inmates, an activity that is not allowed.

But Internet users vehemently questioned the police explanation, citing it as "weird" and "hard to believe."

Many Chinese media, print and online, covered the "blind man's bluff" case in detail over the past week.

To restore public confidence, the Yunnan provincial publicity department set up a task force including members of the public to investigate.

However, members of the task force were not allowed to interview the other five players in the fatal game and were not allowed to see video clips from cameras installed at the victim's cell.

Three members in the 15-member task force were later revealed to be government-backed journalists.

(Shanghai Daily February 26, 2009)