URUMQI - A journalist in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was beaten to "brain death" by five men on Saturday, local police said on Monday.

Police in Kuytun City of Xinjiang said Sun Hongjie, a Kuytun-based correspondent of the Northern Xinjiang Morning Post, had asked a friend, surnamed Bu, out for a drink at around 11:00 p.m. Friday. However, Bu called five other friends to beat Sun, because Sun previously insulted him, according to police.

The five men attacked Sun while he was walking with Bu along Wusu street in Kuytun. Sun was dragged to a nearby construction site and hit in the head.

Later, Sun was able to call police and was brought to a hospital by a co-worker. However, he was diagnosed with "brain death" from his injuries on Saturday morning.

Rumors have spread on the Internet, saying Sun was beaten to death because of reports he wrote on the region's forced relocations. But police Monday refuted such rumors.

The six suspects have been detained and police continue the investigation of the case.