Fan Jingyu (L) , deputy head of personnel department of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), answers questions at a press conference held in Beijing on February 23, 2006. [Xinhua Photo]

At the press conference held by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) in Beijing on February 23, Wu Heping, spokesperson of MPS, briefed the press on police's working conditions and government's measures to improve their welfare.

4,548 police officers killed, injured on duty in 2005

A total of 4,548 Chinese police officers died and injured on official duty in 2005, said Wu Heping, spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing on Thursday.

Among them, 414 police officers sacrificed lives and 4,134 were injured during law enforcement.

6,819 police officers killed on duty from 1990 to 2005

A total of 6,819 police officers on the Chinese mainland died and 120,783 others injured on official duty from 1990 to 2005, according to the information released at the press conference of the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing on Thursday.

More care for police appealed

A total of 414 police on the Chinese mainland died on duty in 2005, while 4,134 others were injured, most of whom were victims of violent conflicts or heavy workload, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

"Many young police were dead for working overtime, with the average age of the police dead on duty standing at 44.8," said Fan Jingyu, deputy head of personnel department of the ministry at a press conference held in Beijing Thursday.

Among the 154 police killed by overtime working, 115 died of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack, cerebral haemorrhage, and thrombus, according to police statistics.

Police listed among most risky occupations

Police has become one of China's most dangerous occupations, as daily occurrence of police dead or injured on duty kept increasing, said an official with the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday.

According to the information released by the ministry, 414 policemen died on duty, which neared one third of the death toll between 1949 and 1980, said Fan Jingyu, vice director of the personnel department of the ministry.

From 1981 to 1989, a total of 1,413 policemen died during law enforcement, as police duty intensified in safeguarding national security and social stability in the reform and opening-up drive.

Less fatalities in traffic accidents during 2006 Spring Festival

The Ministry of Public Security said in Beijing Wednesday that 8,960 people died in traffic accidents in the country during the Jan. 14--Feb. 21 Spring Festival peak travel season, 12 percent less than that in 2005.

According to a ministry statement, 49,000 people were also injured in the 40,000 traffic accidents, dropping by 4.4 percent and 16 percent respectively from last year.

Throughout the country people made 1.85 billion trips by highway during the Spring Festival season, or Lunar New Year holiday, a traditional time for family reunion.