Chinese riot police raided the Wukan village in Guangdong province on Tuesday firing tear gas and rubber bullets to a group of angry protestors.

The villagers were protesting over the three-year jail sentence issued to the village's chief Lin Zulian for corruption.

As a leader, Lin had strived to re-acquire the once sold Wukan land. The court found him guilty of planning a renewed push for the re-acquisition of the land when he was detained in June.

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"We've never been able to reclaim our land because the developer used them as collateral for bank loans," said one villager.

A similar protest in 2011 over the sale of the land led to the dismissal of the Communist Party officials in charge, thus the paving way for Lin.

Human rights activists believe that the riot police were sent to silence the village.

"The government wants us to crack down to set an example and warn other neighboring villages not to stage protests. They are using so much force, it's quite possible the villagers may not be able to do anything for a while," said Amnesty International's Hong Kong-based China researcher, Patrick Poon.

Residents reportedly flooded the streets armed with bricks while securing themselves with shields and helmets. The riot police allegedly set off tear gas grenades and fired live bullets to disperse the crowd.

The police also arrested over a dozen people. A statement released by the police said that officers arrested people who "disturbed order," interrupted transport, and prevented fishermen from launching their boats.

Authorities have also warned against the spread of "fake" videos of the incident.

Tagschina, Wukan Village, riot police, Amnesty International