The security manager of Silk Street Market has been detained by police only days after its former general manager was arrested in Inner Mongolia for selling fake goods.

Zu Shaozhong, security chief of Beijing's most famous shopping destination for expats and foreign tourists, was detained on Monday for unknown reasons.

"The case is currently at a stage that cannot be discussed publicly," Li Baohua, a press officer with Chaoyang police bureau, told METRO yesterday.

Li did however provide details on the case of the former general manager, Wang Zili.

"Wang is being detained for allegedly selling merchandise with fake trademarks on purpose, which violated Article No 214 in the criminal law," Li said.

The Beijing market denied any involvement in the case against Wang.

"His detainment has nothing to do with us. We first heard of it when we read it in the newspaper," said a woman from Silk Street's general affairs office yesterday, who declined to be named.

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Wang, who was appointed as Silk Street's general manager in 2006, had written dozens of letters to central government officials in August this year, shortly after his resignation.

In the letters he accused Zhang Yongping, chairman of Silk Street, of tax evasion that amounted to 200 million yuan between 2005 and 2007. He also wrote that the market fined workers excessively, such as 100 yuan for every time they needed to use toilet paper.

Zhang denied the accusation, saying it was "absolutely made up".

A letter published on the market's website on Aug 5 said all business had been legal and all taxes had been paid.

It added that Wang had been fired for being unqualified.