A Chinese consumer rights advocate is suing Apple after he claimed it sold two refurbished iPhones as new in one of its Beijing stores.

Wang Hai, well known in China for his campaigns against counterfeiters, claimed Apple was cheating customers by selling refurbished phones and has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two customers in a Beijing court.

Apple China declined to comment yesterday.

On July 9, the two each bought an iPhone for 4,999 yuan (US$781) at the Apple retail store in Xidan Street in Beijing.

The warranty period should have been one year. However, when they searched for the serial numbers of their phones on Apple's website, they found the warranties were due to expire on January 28 and April 26 next year.

"It proved their iPhones were not new at all, probably refurbished," Wang said.