A senior official in Liaoyuan, Jilin province, was fatally stabbed in an elevator at his residence on Sunday, and a former government employee was being sought in the death, Caijing magazine reported on Tuesday.

Sun Qing'an, 59, vice-chairman of the city committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Liaoyuan was reportedly stabbed several times in the neck and chest.

Sun’s wife was in the elevator during the attack, said Caijing, a business magazine.

The magazine cited anonymous sources as saying that police were looking for a 38-year-old man who worked for a local government department as a driver, but had quit his job long before the incident.

Sun held several position in the city government, including the head of the commerce bureau and director of the administrative committee of the economic development zone.