A court in Beijing has accepted the case of pop singer Zang Tianshuo, charged with gathering people to engage in affrays and blackmail, a court spokesman told Xinhua Friday.

Zang Tianshuo, 45, was detained on Sept. 28, 2008. His detention was lawfully extended as the case was complicated and involved a large number of suspects who ran away to many provinces across China, said judge Gao Zhihai from the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing.

Zang had been in a dispute with Sun Baohe over a disco bar, where they were both partners, said the judge. Zang ordered Lu Changchun, manager of the bar, to bring people to solve the dispute, he added.

Lu summoned almost 100 people armed with clubs, iron tubes and blades to join a fight with 20 others led by Sun Baohe on June 20, 2003. One man from the Sun's side was killed and many others were injured, said the judge.

Lu fled the scene and returned to Beijing in 2004, hiding in a property owned by Zang's mother, the judge added.

Zang, a household name in China, was one of China's first rock musicians. He has written many hit songs, such as "Friends", and a number of movie and advertising songs. He was voted the most popular mainland singer/songwriter at the 9th Chinese Music Awards in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2009)