BEIJING–Guizhou high school student Li Shufen didn’t want to go out, even if it was a Saturday night. She preferred to stay in, relatives say. But when her girlfriend Wang Jiao phoned for a third time, saying there were a couple of boys coming along and they’d all have fun, Li Shufen gave in.

The following morning she was found dead. Relatives retrieved her body from the river saying she had been the victim of a brutal rape and murder and demanding that police investigate. The police did.

But last week when they declared Li had committed suicide and exonerated both young men – one who was apparently related to a local government official – locals smelled a cover-up.

And the small city of Weng’an in southwest China’s Guizhou province exploded with fire and fury.

On Saturday, 30,000 people took to the streets overturning police cars, setting fire to the local Communist Party headquarters, and trashing police and government offices in a rampage that lasted until 4 a.m. Sunday, when armed reinforcements were finally trucked in.

It was a staggering display of violence with less than six weeks to go before the Olympics – all easily viewed on the Internet – and yet another demonstration of just how volatile this vast country can be.

Yesterday, in a clear sign of pressure from China’s top authorities, state media confirmed a new forensic investigation will be conducted and a team of 10 investigators was on its way to the city.

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