Policemen in Liuzhou in southwest China's Guangxi Province have received brand new equipment.

A policeman flashes his new knife in front of the camera in Liuzhou, Guangxi, on Sunday, February 4, 2007.

In line with the requirements of the Ministry of Public Security, the new equipment includes all-purpose knives, telescopic batons, police flashlights, self-defense sprayers, jugs and first aid kits.

A complete set of the new equipment is worth about 20,000 yuan (US $ 2,500).

The apparatus are classified as either optional or compulsory, according to the needs of the policemen who will be using them.

A policeman told a journalist with Southland Today, a Guangxi-based newspaper, that the new equipment is very practical and can improve the effectiveness of their work.

A complete set of the new equipment.

(CRI February 7, 2007)