A policeman in Henan province was charged with robbery by local prosecutors on Dec 18, police said yesterday.

Local media reported yesterday that Yan Jun, former deputy chief of a Kaifeng police station, had been charged in a Lankao court.

On July 19 last year, Yan, 31, and one of his friends, allegedly got into the Audi sedan of a woman surnamed He as she was preparing to leave home.

The two reportedly put a knife to her throat and a fake gun against her back.

He was told to hand over all of her cash and bankcards, and two mobile phones. Later, they withdrew 265,600 yuan ($38,900) from her accounts, the newspaper reported. Yan was arrested on June 5.

Yan, who was with the police for 12 years, was demoted for gambling two years ago.

"Gambling destroyed him," a Kaifeng public security bureau press officer, who declined to reveal his name, said.

Local media said that at the end of 2006, Yan owed a casino 30,000 yuan.

"Although it's an uncommon case among policemen, it is still a warning for us to pay attention to their education," he said.

"The case shows there is still much to be done to improve discipline," the police press officer said yesterday.

Yan is not the only policeman who committed robbery in recent years.

In 2005, Hunan province policeman He Songlin robbed more than 20 sex workers of over 200,000 yuan in total.

In December 2006, a 29-year-old policeman surnamed Feng was sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbing taxi drivers to buy drugs.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2008)