China's police authority has issued a Class-A warrant for the arrest of a 23-year-old man who is suspected of killing a Beijing policeman.

Zhang Xinlei is suspected of murdering Tang Chengwen, a traffic police officer, after being stopped at midnight on Monday in Mentougou District, in the southern suburbs of Beijing, police said on Wednesday.

Anyone who provides information that leads to Zhang's arrest will receive a reward of 50,000 yuan (US$6,250) in cash, according to the warrant issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

The suspect was driving a white van, with another person in the passenger seat, when they were chased and stopped by Tang. Tang had been ordered to stop a suspected van carrying stolen cables, local media reported.

The men are believed to have dumped Tang's body, the white van and cables after the clash, the Beijing Times said. Tang was robbed of money and his weapons, the paper added. But the police has not confirmed how Tang was killed.

According to earlier official figures, one traffic police died on duty from January to May, 6 severely wounded, and 93 others injured in China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)