Beijing: A soft drink vendor's scheme to fake his own death for financial gain was revealed after the heat in central China's Hubei Province proved too much for him to bear. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. on Saturday, when more than 10 men were holding the sheet-covered vendor's "corpse" on a gurney in Wuhan.

They claimed that urban management workers had beaten the man to death and demanded tens of thousands of yuan in compensation, a worker with the city's urban management committee said Monday. More than 300 people gathered at the scene, and later, over 80 police officers were dispatched to maintain order there. The crowd dispersed two hours later, when the "dead" vendor suddenly jumped up, grabbed a bottle of water and drank it before saying, "It's too hot. I can't bear it anymore." The soft drink vendor, Han, and two others have been detained for disturbing public order.

After being detained, Han told police that urban management workers with the city's Jianghan District clashed with the vendors after telling them that their stands were blocking traffic earlier in the day, asking them to leave and confiscating their mineral waters and other beverages. The No. 2 Hospital of Wuhan City confirmed that some vendors and urban management workers sustained minor injuries in the altercation, but no one was killed.

An Internet user posted photos of the scene online, which netizens have used to mock the recent bout of hot weather that has affected most of the country. China has been experiencing extreme heat waves. More than 10 people across the country died of heatstroke last week.