Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing of a newspaper employee in north China's Shanxi province, local police sources said on Friday.

Zheng Wenping and Ma Li, both unemployed from Nanjiao District of Datong City, have been detained, said the Shanxi provincial public security bureau.

The third suspect, Zheng Hongrui, of Hunyuan County where the incident took place, surrendered to the police.

Lan Chengzhang, an employee of the Shanxi Office of the Beijing-based China Trade News newspaper, was assaulted by eight people on Jan. 10 while allegedly investigating an illegal coal mine in Hunyuan county.

The eight were believed to be gathered by Hou Zhenrun, the owner of the illegal mine.

Police are still seeking other suspects, including Hou and his driver Kang Quanming, the bureau said.

Lan's colleague, Chang Hanwen, suffered a broken right arm and minor injuries in the attack. Local sources said neither of them was a certified reporter of the newspaper.

A man, who claimed to be a friend of Lan's driver named Cao, said a worker with the mine began to make phone calls to others after a short talk with Lan and Chang.

Two vehicles arrived and several people got off and began the assault.

A villager who witnessed the attack said a man hit Lan in the head with a pickaxe.

The attackers fled the scene after Lan fell to the ground unconscious.

Chang and Lan were taken to the Datong No. 5 People's Hospital on the afternoon of Jan. 10 from Hunyuan, about 60 kilometers to the southeast of Datong.

Lan died of an apparent brain haemorrhage the next morning. His brother-in-law, Li Wenxian, reported the case to police immediately after Lan's death.

The provincial public security authorities have dispatched more than 70 police officers to investigate the case.

A vice president of the newspaper had also arrived in Datong to handle the case, according to a Datong city government official.

Shanxi, which produces a quarter of the country's coal per year, has shut more than 5,000 illegal mines in the past two years.

Villagers said the illegal mine, which was transferred to its current owner Hou four months ago, had been in operation for more than one year before it was shut down after the beating accident.

Source: Xinhua