Images of men and women in blood-soaked clothes are being circulated among Chinese microbloggers following a clash between the riot police and hundreds of unarmed protesters triggered by the killing of a fruit seller Deng Zhengjia, Wednesday.
The clash took place after residents in Linwu County of China's Hunan province held a massive protest against the killing of the fruit vendor by the Chinese urban enforcers, according to the South China Morning Post.
Images posted online also showed the fruit vendor lying motionless on the ground at a street stall in the region after he was beaten to death by local regulation enforcers known as Chengguan.
The local officials punched and kicked and one even used a metal measuring weight to smash the fruit seller's head, according to the wife of the fruit vendor.
The wife said that her husband had recently moved his stall in accordance with instructions from the local regulation enforcers.
China Daily on Friday said that the body of the deceased has been sent for autopsy and an investigation is underway.
"The government will deal with the case according to the law based on the autopsy and investigation results," China Daily quoted He Zunqing, a top government official in Linwu, as saying.
"He said an investigation is still under way, but so far no evidence has been found to indicate Deng was killed by the officers," reported China Daily.
As more and more people are joining the discussion about the clash caused by the vendor's death on the social networks, many are wondering if the Hunan hawker might be the one to ignite China's very own Arab Spring? South China Morning Post exclusively carried a story on that very own topic Friday.
