Police in Yunhe county, Lishui city, in East China's Zhejiang province, on Tuesday shot and injured a suspect who kidnapped a female deputy county magistrate for more than nine hours.

Li Yibo was taken hostage at 8 am on May 22 at the county government building, according to a statement the local government released late Tuesday night.

The suspect threatened Li with a knife and refused to give himself up, so the local police decided to shoot the suspect after repeated negotiations failed. Li was rescued successfully. The suspect was sent to hospital for medical treatment immediately. His injuries were not life-threatening, the statement said.

The suspect, named Zhang, from Hekeng village in Yunhe county, was sentenced to prison for two years in January 2010 and released on July 17, 2011, the statement said, without disclosing the crime.

The motive of the hijack was not released. The local government said the case was under investigation.