Niu Hao, 28, deputy head of the housing administration bureau of Shaoling district in Luohe city, is believed to have beat three local reporters and two reporters from Beijing on March 27 to prevent them from probing a villa project that he co-invested in, Zhou Dazeng, one of the three local reporters who were seriously injured, said on Friday.…An official from the housing administration bureau of Shaoling district, where Niu works, said on Friday that Niu had asked for a few days' leave.