Lhasa police have seized over 800 "criminals" since the violent March 14 unrest in the city, the Tibet Commerce newspaper reported, citing the deputy chief of the Lhasa communist party, Wang Xiangming.

This is nearly double a figure of 414 people caught by police reported by the state media earlier this week.

In addition, more than 280 people had turned themselves in, Wang was quoted as saying, confirming a previous figure of 289.

Trials will be carried out before May 1, a national holiday in China, the paper quoted him as saying.

"An incident of a magnitude like the one on March 14 will not happen again," the paper said.

The March 14 violence came after days of peaceful protests in Lhasa against 57 years of Chinese rule and quickly spilled over into other parts of China inhabited by Tibetans.

Exiled Tibetan leaders say 135 to 140 people have died in the Chinese crackdown on the demonstrations. China insists it has acted with restraint and killed no one, while blaming Tibetan rioters for the deaths of 20 people.

The unrest, the worst to hit the Himalayan region in decades, has come at an awkward time for Beijing at it prepares to host the Summer Olympics, attracting the attention of the entire world.

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