China Holds Man For Killing Policeman In Rampage

He then hijacked another SUV at knife-point to make his getaway as the other car burned, the paper said.

China has detained a man who killed a police officer and injured four others as they tried to intercept him after he drove a sports utility vehicle (SUV) into a government office building, local media reported on Tuesday.

The man, 30, surnamed Zhang, drove into the foyer of the building, then fled after igniting gas tanks in the car, the Beijing News said.

He then hijacked another SUV at knife-point to make his getaway as the other car burned, the paper said.

No one was hurt in the government office blaze, which was put out by a local fire-fighting crew soon after, but a police officer died after Zhang slammed the hijacked car into a barricade, the paper said.

Four others were injured, one seriously, the paper added, citing the publicity office of the local government.

The paper did not say whether Zhang held a grievance against local authorities, only describing him as "cranky" and holding a criminal record.

Zhang had previously rammed his car into a local toll station, and had once been "talked out" of torching a car at another government office building, the paper said.

The incident comes a week after a court in southern Hunan province gave a disgruntled farmer a death sentence for causing an explosion at a government office that injured 18 people.

The farmer, who held a grudge after authorities tore down illegal structures he had built on his land, drove a three-wheeled vehicle loaded with lit gas tanks into the building, state media said.