The government in a district of Southwest China's Yunnan province apologized after three civil servants beat and abused a blind beggar on the street.

The three chengguan (urban management staff) and their leaders were suspended from their posts by the Zhaoyang district government of Zhaotong city after they were found to have attacked a blind beggar, the district's publicity department said on Monday.

An online video on Sunday showed that a man was standing in a pool, with his head bleeding. He told passers-by that he was attacked by unidentified people while begging in front of a bank.

An eyewitness said that the man was beaten by three chengguan and thrown into the pool afterward, yunnan.com.cn reported.

The video drew fierce public criticism afterward, with many netizens calling for the attackers to be punished.

A deputy head of Zhaoyang district apologized to He Shiyin, the blind man, and the district's publicity department said the government welcomes supervision from the public.