A man who injured a police officer in a dispute over a temperature reading was sentenced to eight months in jail for disturbing public service by the Qingpu District People's Court on Friday.

This is Shanghai's first public-service disturbance case related to epidemic prevention and control efforts. The hearing was held online with prosecutors and the offender speaking from separate locations. A live feed of the proceedings was also available on a national website for open trials.

According to prosecutors, the offender, surnamed Zhang, was driving home on February 9 afternoon with his family. While trying to enter their residential community at 1:30pm, the family was stopped by a security guard for a temperature screening.

Since Zhang's son was found with an abnormal temperature, the guard asked them to delay their entry and wait for a second temperature check. Zhang, however, refused to move and thereby blocked access to the community with his car.

Half an hour later, police officers arrived and told Zhang to leave, or they would use compulsory measures to take him away. Zhang got in his car at 2:30pm but still refused to remove the vehicle.

Ignoring police warnings and requests for him to move, Zhang accelerated his car when officers attempted to remove him from behind the wheel. The vehicle's acceleration injured the arm of a police officer, the court heard.

Prosecutors said Zhang's use of violence to hinder police duty constituted a disturbance to public service. They called for a heavy sentence, but Zhang's eventual willing surrender to police earned him a lenient punishment.