CHANGCHUN: Local police on Friday detained the chief suspect in a case related to the death of a steel factory manager during a workers' protest in Jilin province three months ago.

According to the police, Ji Yigang, 50, was a worker at the Tonghua Iron and Steel Co Ltd and has confessed to the crime. Five other suspects have surrendered, the police said.

The manager, Chen Guojun, who was dispatched by the Beijing-based Jianlong Heavy Machinery Group to merge the company with Tonghua, was beaten to death during the protests in July. Some protesting workers had also allegedly blocked the approach roads to the factory to prevent the police and ambulances from saving the manager, according to a government investigation.