11 claim police tortured them during detention

Eleven people who were released last month after spending two years in police custody claim they were tortured during a murder investigation.

Qi Yabo, one of the suspects, said the torture included hanging them and beating their legs with iron bars, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Monday.

Three other suspects also claimed to have been tortured, as did the seven family members of the four, the report said.

Four men were detained by the police after a 13-year-old boy was found dead in a table tennis club in Jize county, Hebei province, in January 2012.

Before the boy's death, the men had played at the club and, as a result, the police took them into custody on suspicion that they killed the boy, who was employed to safeguard the club at night, and robbed the club of 1,000 yuan ($160).

In addition to the four suspects, seven of their family members were also detained by the police on allegations of hiding the suspects.

The suspects could not withstand the torture and told the police they had killed the boy. However, when the court heard the case in October 2013, all four denied the accusations, saying they had confessed to stop the torture.

On April 9, the 11 were released after being detained for two years.