Local police in Lufeng, Guangdong Province have detained a number of gun-wielding thugs involved in a gang fight in Songzhu village Sunday, in which more than 10 villagers were injured, including a 14-year-old boy.

Four villagers, including Songzhu village chief Liu Changmao, are in criminal detention.

Local residents were unhappy with the distribution of compensation from a land acquisition deal, believing that Liu and his younger brothers had schemed to take more than their fair share, villagers told the Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily.

A group of Songzhu villagers, led by Chen Zhanzhu, got into conflict with Liu and his brothers. The brothers suggested starting a gang fight, according to a Tencent microblog post from the Lufeng city government's information office.

The Liu brothers and some 20 non-locals, equipped with shotguns, knives and wooden sticks, arrived in Songzhu Sunday morning, attacking Chen and other villagers.

Liu and his gang members also fired shotguns at onlookers, injuring more than 10 villagers. Some gang members were also hurt in the fight, the Nanfang Daily reported.

The youngest victim is 11 years old, and the oldest is 66.

The most severely injured victim is an elementary school student, Huang Bingrui, 14, who is still in critical condition, the newspaper said.

Huang, who sustained injuries to his head and liver, was transferred to a hospital in Shantou.

The fight-triggering land deal involved 2 million yuan ($325,400) in compensation for a cemetery to be built on Mount Longjiaohu in the village.

"We suspect that Liu reported he had more family members so as to get more money. That's why we all went, hoping that he would distribute the extra money he got," Chen said.

"After that, Liu's brother called one of us and warned us to be ready to get beaten up," Chen said.

Chen Shuichuan, director of Dongzhu village committee, which governs Songzhu village, denied Chen's account.

He told the Nanfang Daily that the cemetery was a case of a government-backed land acquisition and the compensation distribution was handled by the representatives of the villagers, with no village leaders involved.

The head of the public security bureau of Lufeng, Chen Junpeng, said that the case is still under investigation.

Global Times