CHINA –A Chinese Court has sentenced four security officials in the country to prison terms ranging from three to 11 years for intentional injury in a notorious clash that led to the demise of a melon seller.

It was gathered that Deng Zhengjia, 56, died in Hunan province in July after he was hit over the head with a measuring weight during the row with the officials.

They were enforcing an urban code and trying to prevent him from selling fruit in an unauthorised location.

The officials, also known as chengguan, or Urban Management Law Enforcement force, support the police in tackling low-level offences in cities and have become unpopular with the Chinese public after a series of high-profile violent incidents.

This particular case sparked outrage on China's microblogs and anti-chengguan protests in Linwu county, Chenzhou, where the incident took place.

China's microblog users condemned the verdict as too lenient.

One of the microbloggers said this immediately the verdict was given: "They take a life but don't pay with a life, they are all people but their lives are not treated the same! But this is China, where things are not done according to logic."