Police in Chongwen district had been trying to suppress Hua Huiqi, 45, an underground pastor who has fought against a development project in his neighborhood. Chongwen police moved Hua out of their jurisdiction on Monday to Fengtai on the city's southwestern edge, but the Fengtai police brought him back to his home yesterday, said Hua's friend Zhou Li.

A fight broke out between the eight Fengtai police and a greater number of Chongwen police and men hired by the developer, New World China Land, Zhou said.

In the scuffle, four police were injured and Hua was knocked unconscious, Zhou said at the Tiantan Hospital where Hua was awaiting treatment. Police declined comment.

New World China Land has been tearing down old houses in Hua's neighborhood to make way for a new high-rise real estate development.

The home of Hua's mother in Chongwen was torn down by the same developer in 2001 and the family says they have yet to be properly compensated.

Hua has been arrested and beaten several times over the last few years because of his religious activities and earlier this year served six months in jail for "obstructing official business." That charge stemmed from an incident where Hua and his mother scuffled with police in January as they tried to deliver a petition to the central government over the demolition of their home in 2001.

Hua's mother, Shuang Shuying, 78, was sentenced to two years' jail for damaging public property during a protest against her son's detention. ASSOCIATED PRESS