Four patrol police officers in north China have been sentenced to up to four years in prison, after being convicted of using violence while seriously injuring the victim during questioning. The emergency command headquarters of Laiyuan County in Baoding City, Hebei Province, received a report on March 14 last year, saying a man was stealing a car on the county's Xiangyang Street, the Yanzhao Metropolis Daily reported yesterday. About 3am, the county public security bureau sent four patrolmen to the scene, the Hebei-based newspaper said. The four officers were identified by pseudonyms, Liu Shan, Cao Wei, Sun Ming and Liu Hua. Arriving at the spot, the four saw a man seated in the driver's seat of a Xiali-brand car, identified as the stolen taxi. They opened the car door, demanding the man surnamed Sun get off. But he didn't respond. The officers pulled Sun out of the car by force. Although they repeatedly questioned him, Sun still didn't respond. Then, the four officers began to beat or kick him. Liu was found to use a rubber club to hit Sun's head. Besides the injuries in the head, Sun also suffered from contusions throughout his body, from the beating. Legal medical experts who examined Sun found he was seriously injured. The county's court found Sun sat in the taxi and declined to leave, because he was drunk. Last September, the court sentenced Liu Shan to four years in prison. Liu appealed after the verdict, which was later reaffirmed. Cao was sentenced to two years in jail, with a reprieve of three years. The other two received a one-year sentence for each, with two years' reprieve. The Laiyuan public security bureau has paid 150,000 yuan (US$18,750) to Sun as compensation.