Africans protest at Chinese police station

BEIJING (Reuters) - Hundreds of Africans protested outside a police station in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday, after an Nigerian died from falling from a building while hiding from police.

The protesters had taken the dead body of a man, who they said was trying to evade Chinese police after he overstayed his visa, to the door of the police station to demand justice.

The victim was Nigerian, a witness told Reuters.

Riot police holding shields blocked roads near the police station, asking the crowd to leave, the Nanfang Daily said on its website.

A Nigerian businessman who gave his name as Emeka said there was no violence, only shouting and the occasional scuffle, and estimated the number of mainly Nigerian protesters at about 100.

"We are angry because the police catch people without passports. We need to give them bribes to stay in Guangzhou," he told Reuters by mobile telephone.

The crowd dispersed by late afternoon.

Repeated calls to the Guangzhou police were not answered.

Guangzhou has a large population of traders and businessmen from West Africa, reflecting the growing ties between the world's third largest economy and the resource-rich African continent.