The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is independently investigating the death of a woman hours after she was released from police custody.

Thirty-five year old Jianping Liu (born 12 June 1974), who is of Chinese origin, had been arrested as a suspected over-stayer by Metropolitan Police Officers on routine patrol of Terminal 1 public departure area at Heathrow airport at about 1.20am on Thursday 12 November 2009.

She was taken into custody but was released just after 9.30am the next day, after it had been determined that she did have leave to stay in the UK.

At about 1pm that afternoon, police received a 999 call stating that a woman had been seen falling from the bridge on the Northern Perimeter Road. Local police units responded but Ms Liu was pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident was referred to the IPCC and an investigator has undertaken an independent assessment of the evidence available so far. A decision has now been taken that the IPCC will independently investigate this case.

IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said: “One of the key things this investigation will look at is how officers interacted with Ms Liu, in particular the risk assessment and explanations provided on arrest and release.”