Li Litian, of Zhoukou City, was executed over the killing of a laid-off worker in September 2004 after Li and five other police allegedly beat the man at the station after a dispute with the family of a local court official, Xinhua news agency said.

Later, the victim was allegedly thrown from the third storey of the station by the policemen, the report said, adding the beating was a favour for local court official Lu Liusheng.

A city court handed down a death sentence to Li and gave Lu a death sentence with a two-year reprieve in May 2007. The ruling was upheld by the provincial higher court in November and was approved by the Supreme Court, Xinhua said.

The other officers received differing jail terms, including a life sentence, the report added.

The Chinese government has been severely criticised by overseas human rights groups for its frequent use of the death penalty, with more people believed killed in China than anywhere else in the world.

Rights group Amnesty International estimated in April that at least 1,200 confirmed executions were carried out around the world last year, with China leading the way with at least 470.

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