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Posted at 12:09 a.m., Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Beijing reopens tourist spot two months after Olympic murder

By Wing-Gar Cheng
Bloomberg News Service

Beijing's government has reopened a tourist site at which a relative of a U.S. volleyball coach was murdered during the Olympic Games.

The Drum Tower started admitting visitors again Oct. 10, two months after the slaying, a spokeswoman for the tower's cultural heritage protection office said today. The tower now has three layers of security railings, one more than previously, and security staff numbers were boosted to 15 from 10, she said.

Todd Bachman, father-in-law of the U.S. men's indoor volleyball team coach, was stabbed to death by a Chinese man identified as Tang Yongming, who also attacked his wife, daughter and a guide on Aug. 9. Tang committed suicide by jumping off the tower after the attack.

Security railings have also been raised and tourists are allowed only to stand at designated areas at the top of the tower, the spokeswoman said today. The building was constructed as the Qizheng Tower in 1272 and rebuilt in 1420 as the Drum Tower, according to the Beijing tourism bureau.