Mongolian minister sacked over official’s death

Ulaanbaatar: Mongolia’s transport minister has been sacked after an official was beaten to death inside his ministry’s building in an alleged job dispute, highlighting the graft and cut-throat culture in government employment.

The parliament voted on Thursday to dismiss Bat-Erdene Jadamba, the minister of road, transportation and development, in the wake of the Aug 9 killing.

Gombosuren Tumurkhuyag, the 38-year-old head of the internal audit department, was beaten to death inside the ministry.

A day later, the head of the state administration and management department, Makhbal Badam, was arrested over the death.

Late last month, the victim’s father told reporters his son had been under pressure to resign since February and was killed because people wanted his job.

Jadamba appointed Badam after he took office last year.

Members of parliament said on Thursday that the killing was related to a job dispute.

“A life was brutally taken because of a government position. This case should never be considered just an incident,” MP Oyundari Yunden said before the vote.

Another MP, Munkhbat Jamiyan, said Tumurkhuyag had told him about the pressures he faced six months before his death.

“Makhbal brought the deceased to his room six or seven times to intimidate him in order to appoint a different person to his position,” Jamiyan said. — AFP