Pregnant woman's beating spark riots

More than 1,000 people protested in a Guangdong village after a pregnant woman was allegedly manhandled by mainland police and her husband beaten to death.

The riot started on Friday night. Wang Lianmei, a 20-year-old migrant worker from Sichuan, was allegedly treated brutally by security staff in front of a supermarket in Dadun village, Zhengcheng municipality. The pregnant Wang had been selling jeans.

Later that night, migrant workers stirred by internet reports of the incident began to riot. Rumours claimed Wang's 28-year-old husband Tang Xuecai had been beaten to death. Rampaging mobs overturned police cars and set local government offices on fire. They also pelted police with stones.

In a surprise twist, Tang himself appeared at a press conference held by Zhengcheng municipality's government Sunday morning. He said his unborn baby girl and wife were both doing well. The authorities also played a video clip showing officials visiting Wang in the hospital.

In the last few days, several videos of the riots were posted on YouTube. In one video a protester said migrant workers in Guangdong felt mistreated by authorities.

Another video on YouTube showed police in riot gear move in and fire tear gas canisters at rioters.

The government news agency, Xinhua, said on Sunday that at least 25 people had been arrested. The report said no one was injured. The unrest continued yesterday.