An off-duty policeman was stabbed to death when he and his pregnant wife tried to catch a robber on the street, reported China's top internet portal sina.com.

The policeman surnamed Yang, 27, was walking home with his wife, who is a policewoman, at night over the weekend in Kunming of Yunnan Province.

They saw a man ranning away as others chased after him yelling "thief!"

After Yang and his wife followed the man and cornered him, the man stabbed Yang in chest with a knife, said the report.

Yang died in the hospital later. The man was caught later and he confessed he stole several mobile phones from a shop.