Kunshan police of Jiangsu province denied on Friday that a man who recently attracted attention online and generated heated discussions in the country was a gang member, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Police said that the county-level city of Kunshan, which is under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, has good social order and a preliminary investigation shows the man did not have a "strong gang relationship" as many Chinese netizens expected.

On Monday, the man, Liu Hailong, drove a BMW sedan and suddenly veered into the nonmotorized vehicle lane, where a rider surnamed Yu was waiting at a traffic light, to avoid waiting in line to turn right.

After two other people from the car confronted Yu, whose electric bike was hit by the car, Liu attacked Yu by kicking him and pushing him down. He retrieved a knife from the car and brandished it at him several times before it was knocked to the ground.

But Yu managed to grab the knife and slashed Liu several times. He then chased Liu and continued to strike at him as he ran toward the car.

Liu, 36, died after the attack and the 41-year-old Yu, who had no life-threatening wounds, was detained by the police. The attack sparked discussion about what constitutes justifiable self-defense and excessive force in China.

Police confirmed that the autopsy of Liu's body has been finished, and more details on the case will be released to the public in time.

They also said that they would protect Yu's family if requested.