Local police in Pingdu, Shandong Province, confirmed to the Global Times on Tuesday that a demolition worker was physically abused when he was illegally detained by a Caixin Media journalist and seven other villagers on Friday.

The response came after local police told the Jinan-based dzwww.com that Chen Baocheng, the journalist, did not stop a villager from pouring gasoline on Guo Xiaogang, an excavator operator.

Guo was held for 25 hours after he was found cleaning up the debris of an illegally demolished house in Chen's ancestral village. He was also allegedly beaten, local police said.

However, Chen's wife told the Global Times that an audio recording on Chen's mobile phone could prove that Guo was willing to stay, but the police refused to return the phone.

Wang Xueming, lawyer for one of the eight detainees, also denied the report by saying that his client "never did anything like that." "No violence occurred at the scene," Wang told the Global Times, adding that the eight accused, including Chen, were not physically capable of hurting the operator. "I suspected Guo was deliberately ordered to stay to cause suspicion of illegal imprisonment, thereby forcing the police to deal with the case. Those villagers repeatedly called the police but received no help."

Zheng Xiang, lawyer for Chen's father, said the alleged imprisonment of that operator would not have happened if the local police had shown up earlier and handled the case properly.

Villagers have been strongly resisting the demolition since they will lose their property ownership certificate if they move to the new apartment building as required. The land does not have a permit for development, according to the lawyers.