Lawyers in the city want special protection from violence while performing their duties.

The Shanghai Bar Association said yesterday it will appeal to the government for a new law containing stricter punishment for anyone who attacks an attorney on the job after a lawyer was beaten by a dozen men during a negotiation last Friday.

Ten men allegedly attacked lawyer Mao Liequn, breaking his nose among other injuries, at a dock in Pudong.

Mao was working on behalf of a Hong Kong company that wanted a pair of brothers surnamed Shen to vacate the dock, which they had illegally occupied to store cargo.

The Shen brothers had refused to move from the dock despite several negotiation attempts by company representatives, the association said.

Mao and several company employees attempted to negotiate with the brothers once again on Friday.

Mao told the police he made it clear to the brothers that he was the company's lawyer, but to his surprise they called a gang of men to the dock who took Mao and his associates into a shed and beat them. Mao was the main target of the beating.

The assailants escaped before police arrived on the scene.

Police are currently trying to track down the assailants.

"This is the first case of violence towards lawyers that has been reported to the association so far this year," said Chen Dong, an association official.

"But it's a serious case and many lawyers feel unsafe while carrying out their work."

The beating spurred the association to once again ask for tougher punishment for those who attack lawyers, a suggestion the Shanghai People's Congress refused two years ago, Chen said.

Ma Yongjian, a lawyer with Co-Career Law Firm, said those who attack lawyers should receive stricter punishment.

"Those who attack law enforcement officers face the charge of hampering public duties in addition to assault. Lawyers are also participants in the legal system. Conducting an investigation to gather clues is an important task for lawyers. It's necessary that we feel safe, when carrying out this difficult job which sometimes put us in danger," Ma said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2006)