The public security bureau in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, are investigating the suspected cover-up of the death of a detained man by Yangshuo county police, Zhengzhou Evening News reported on Monday.

The man, surnamed Mo, who was in the county's detention center under suspicion of theft, was sent to a local hospital on Dec 16, 2013, and died that night, according to the report.

Mo's family doubted the reason for his death and asked police to give them an explanation, said the report.

Later, Yangshuo county police allegedly gave the family 900,000 yuan ($148,400) in compensation and asked them not to speak out about the case, said the report.

Liu Qing, spokesman of the Guilin public security bureau, told the newspaper that the case had aroused the attention of the city's police and they organized on Saturday a team to further investigate.

Investigation results will be released to the public in time, the report added.