Five Shenzhen residents involved in clashes with police during protests by hundreds of property owners at a luxury housing estate, many of them Hongkongers, have been jailed for between 24 and 30 months.
The five residents of Longzhu Huayuan, in Buji district, were found guilty in Shenzhen's Longgang district court of illegally breaking into a community police office and inciting residents to march through the streets, paralysing traffic, Jing Bao newspaper reported.
It is the city's first criminal conviction of owners of residential properties protesting over their rights.
In October and December 2005, Longzhu Huayuan residents staged several protests against what they called 'gangland-style management' of their estate.
They claimed several residents had been beaten by security guards hired by their property management company.
During the protest, residents rushed into the street to voice their anger, at which point dozens of riot police were sent in to take control.