Jailed Chinese activist denies attempting suicide like authorities claimed after waking from coma

Xing Wangli says he fell unconscious after he was beaten in detention centre

The detention centre said Mr Xing attempted to hang himself with a rope made of cardboard (China Photos/Getty Images)

A Chinese activist has said he did attempt suicide as authorities claimed and instead was beaten at a detention centre.

Xing Wangli woke up from a coma after his skull was smashed at a detention centre in August.

The detention centre, in Xi county, Henan province, said Mr Xing had attempted to hang himself with a rope made of cardboard. They said he hit his head when another prisoner rescued him.

However, Mr Xing's wife told Radio Free Asia he fell unconscious after he was beaten at the detention centre, the Hong Kong Free Press reports.

“They said he tried to commit suicide by hanging — it’s impossible", she said. "He said he was beaten."

Mr Xing underwent surgery to repair his skull last Monday, then was taken back to a detention centre in Xi county on the same day, his son, who fled to Thailand after his father's arrest, said.

He was detained in May, 2015, after he called attention to the suspicious death of an activist.

He was sentenced to four and a half years for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" in August and allegedly attempted to kill himself the next day.

But his family rejected police statements at the time and said their request to see surveillance footage was denied.

After they spoke to the media about Mr Xing's condition, his wife, mother and brother were reportedly put under surveillance.