Hundreds of people clashed with police in a southern Chinese city after a motorcyclist died while trying to avoid a checkpoint, the Xinhua news agency reported today.
The violence in Shenzhen, which lasted from Friday afternoon until early today, started when relatives of the motorcyclist carried his body to a local police station and a group of about 30 people smashed items in the station and set off fireworks, according to the report.
The crowd later grew to 400 people, with some 2,000 onlookers, police said. Some threw stones and set fire to a patrol car before they were dispersed by 2am.
Police said the motorcyclist (31) was driving an unlicensed motorcycle and had rushed passed a checkpoint in the city's Bao'an district, Xinhua reported.
He then turned around at a crossroad and drove back on the other side of the road. At that point, a checkpoint worker threw his walkie-talkie at the man, causing him to lose control and strike a lamppost, Xinhua said.
His relatives demanded government compensation of 600,000 yuan (€68,000), according to Xinhua, adding district government officials promised an advance of 200,000 yuan, with any final compensation to be paid after results of an autopsy.
The checkpoint worker has been detained by police, but Xinhua said the city's public security bureau had determined police showed restraint in handling the unrest.
Reuters