Members of the "chengguan", a civilian force that enforces local laws, must make the pledge in Henan province's capital Zhengzhou after one of their members beat up a 76-year-old woman, the China News Service said.

The chengguan, or "city management", force operates in all major Chinese cities, but is widely hated due to regular reports of violence by its members in the course of their official duties.

These include controlling street vendors, hawkers and illegal cabs.

Alleged incidents of violence by chengguan have sparked large-scale riots in some cities.

The Zhengzhou government "asked all city management members to sign a civilised law enforcement agreement to guarantee against the re-occurrence of beating incidents in the process of law enforcement," it said.

In Zhengzhou alone, there have been four alleged beatings involving chengguan within a month, according to state media.

The latest -- the case of the elderly woman -- caused an outcry when it was reported in the media, fuelling the government action, the report said.

The victim had come into the city on a donkey cart to sell sweet potatoes and make enough money to buy medicine for her sick son, but was stopped by a chengguan officer and beaten, according to media reports.

It was unclear why the beating took place, but the chengguan officer was subsequently fired, punished with 10 days' administrative detention and fined 500 yuan (75 dollars), reports said.

AFP calls to the Zhengzhou government went unanswered.

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