Yang jia executed for killing 6 policemen

A man who became an unlikely cult hero after murdering six policemen has been executed in China.

Yang Jia, 28, was put to death in Shanghai after he went on a stabbing spree at a police station in the city in July.

He said he killed the officers in revenge for being wrongfully arrested on suspicion of stealing a bicycle.

Yang, described as a lonely man who loved the internet and reading, repeatedly demanded compensation for his overnight detention in October 2007.

He claimed he suffered psychological damage because police beat him while he was in custody.

After his compensation claims were rejected, he appeared to snap and began his attack on the police station where he had been held.

He lit petrol bombs at the gates before forcing his way in and stabbing a total of nine police officers and a security guard.

Yang lost an appeal against his death sentence last month after court proceedings which his supporters said were flawed.

Some people regarded him as a victim who stood up to the abuse commonly suffered by marginalised people in China.

After the execution was reported, tributes were posted on the internet, some calling Yang a hero.

"When you hold a knife up to the police, it's doomed to end this way. But Chinese history will remember Yang Jia's name forever," one person wrote.

But one of the few messages which suggested Yang deserved his fate read: "Don't forget Yang Jia is a murderer."