Police in east China's Anhui Province on Friday apprehended three men who were suspected of attacking a policeman and stealing his pistol Tuesday.

The suspects were caught at 5 a.m. Friday, when they were asleep in a cabin at a construction site in Taihu County, said a spokesman with the Public Security Department of Tongcheng City.

The three were all natives of eastern Shandong Province and made a living in Tongcheng by robbing vehicles, he said.

They put up a struggle with two policemen, Mao Jigen and Zhang Long, Tuesday afternoon when Mao and Zhang suspected the motorbike they were riding was stolen and questioned them at a checkpoint.

In a desperate attempt to flee, they knocked Mao out and stole his pistol and bullets.

The officer is still in the hospital after the attack, but is expected to recover.

Police retrieved the pistol and two bullets Wednesday near a tap water plant in Tongcheng. The suspects' motorcycle was found deserted at the railway station in rural Huaining County.

One of the suspects, Xu Kunming, admitted he had hit Mao on the head with a brick.

Police in Tongcheng are still investigating the case.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2009)