The country's detention houses, which fall under the management of local police departments, have come under scrutiny in recent months following several high-profile fatalities. The draft regulation is being seen as an attempt to improve their management.

Detention facilities hit the headlines in February after 24-year-old Li Qiaoming was beaten to death in Yunnan province. Local authorities initially ruled out foul play, blaming his death on an accident during a game of hide and seek. It was only after public uproar and the intervention of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), that the truth was uncovered.

Under the new rules, procuratorates must verify the cause of death of inmates who die of unnatural causes. If family members are unsatisfied, a higher level procuratorate should also investigate.

Police working within detention houses can now be penalized if they are found to have abused or insulted a detainee, if they have taken a detainee's possessions or accepted a bribe from a detainee or his family member.

A draft amendment to the State Compensation Law, submitted to the National People's Congress Standing Committee last month, said detention houses and jails must offer compensation if officers beat inmates or allow others to beat inmates.

Liu Zhongcheng, a lawyer in Beijing, said ineffective management of detention centers and disrespect given to detainees cause problems that can lead to injury and death. Liu said the new regulation was a step in the right direction.

"So far as I know, a lot of detainees work for free, which is not right," Liu told China Daily yesterday. "Detention houses are supposed to be a neutral ground, where suspects are not convicted yet, and, other than their personal freedom, all their other rights should be protected."

The draft regulation also stipulates that agencies, including public security departments and courts, that decide to detain a person should inform the detainee's family within 12 hours.

If the detainee's family cannot be reached, the decision to detain the person must be referred to the detainee's lawyer, the regulation says.