Beijing, February 26:

China is striving to rein in violent security guards with new rules that will prevent them from beating up people or otherwise abuse their positions, state media said today .

The State Council, or cabinet, has published draft rules aiming to impose curbs on the tens of thousands of security guards who protect government offices, schools, factories and enterprises across China, the Xinhua news agency said. The regulations were issued after government-hired security guards in central China last month bludgeoned to death a man who had video-taped them while they beating up a group of protesters.

The incident caused a nationwide uproar against security guards, seen by many in China as no more than “hired thugs,” and led to an investigation into over 100 city inspectors in Tianmen city, Hubei province.

The draft rules explicitly forbid security guards from restricting the personal freedom of any individual and searching their persons, the report said.

It bans security guards from “insult, assault, battery or inducing others to commit battery,” as well as withholding individual property or identification.

Guards will also no longer be allowed to use violence or threaten to use violence to demand payment, infringe personal privacy or leak secrets, it said.

Security guards are widely used in public and private sectors, but few are authorised to use any form of law enforcement to maintain social order, Xinhua said.