SHENZHEN: The mayor and 12 bureau chiefs of Lianjiang, Guangdong province will be taken to court by more than 800 farmers for allegedly seizing their farmland, Southern Rural News reported yesterday.

The farmers claim that about 47,000 sq m of farmland was illegally acquired as the government auctioned off the rights for sand excavation in Lianjiang's rivers.

Hengdong village chief Chen Guang displayed several documents and legal certificates to show the land belongs to the village.