Local government apologized on a press conference held on Saturday after a footage of demolition crew striking villagers in Haikou city, south China’s Hainan province. The government announced that 7 crew members involved have been detained, and their team leader surnamed Wang has been dismissed.

In the horrific footage, the demolition crew were seen cornering and striking villagers with sticks, and women were heard wailing.

The site of the ongoing demolition in Haikou, south China's Hainan province

According to report from www.hinews.cn, the villagers sold the farmland to outsiders for construction. The demolition crew were there to tear down these illegal buildings when the collision in the video took place.

The footage went viral online, thrilling and raging web users as it circulates. Many of the netizens believe that the local government needs to exert more severe punishment on the demolition crew members.