A member of the public who helped local police in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, catch 39 pickpockets was assaulted by a gang of thieves for his efforts.

Police are now hunting for suspects who attacked Li Bingyi, a member of the Voluntary Alliance Against Pickpockets, on Sunday when he was trying to hand over a pickpocket caught by a fellow volunteer and fractured two of his ribs.

Police sources said it was the first time that thieves have taken revenge against the volunteer group that was set up in April this year.

More than 10 young men surrounded Li at 4 pm on Sunday and, without warning, started to beat him and stamp on his chest.

Li, 44, recognized some of the young men as thieves he had turned over to the police on previous occasions.

Some cities in China encourage citizens to take part in crackdowns on pickpockets and organizations such as the Voluntary Alliance Against Pickpockets have been established and proved valuable for police.

Volunteers took to the street in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, with the police during the New Year holiday last year, and helped police arrest five pickpockets in the downtown area in just one hour.

Angry pickpockets have begun to take revenge after many of them were caught by the volunteers. A volunteer was badly wounded by more than 20 thieves last year in Guilin, a popular tourist destination in south China.

However, the anti-pickpocket volunteers have also sparked controversy for their role in the fight against pickpockets. A volunteer group of 2,000 members in Wuhan was forced to suspend operations after a pickpocket died suddenly of a ruptured vein last October, 28 days after a fight with volunteers who tried to catch him.

The volunteer nicknamed "Guanzi" who allegedly beat the pickpocket with a club during the fight has been detained by police.