One person was beaten to death, another was seriously injured when a group of 50 men, hired by a real estate agency, attempted to smash down two houses on disputed land in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, a local government official said Monday.

The incident took place on May 14, when the group of hired thugs tried to violently force Liu and Yang (who only gave their surnames) from their houses in the capital city of Hohhot's Fuxingying village, local police said.

The men were hired by the real estate developer Inner Mongolia's Songjiang Real Estate Development Company, police said, and they beat two brothers in Yang's house, Zhang Ruijun and Zhang Ruichen, who were hired by Yang to stop any violent measures to take the land from him.

The 40-year-old Zhang Ruichen died later in hospital and the 42-year-old Zhang Ruijun's head and legs were seriously injured.

According to the police, each of the 50 hired men were paid 300 yuan (US$43.9).

Police have detained 17 people of the group and are continuing their investigation into the case.