A Chinese man who carried out a protest by living in a tree for over two months near his demolished property was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for assembling a crowd to disrupt the order of public traffic, Xinhuanet.com reported.

Chen Maoguo, 60, is a native of Fengjie County in Chongqing Municipality. Chen, who owns a small village store, was detained on November 19, 2009, when he left his little hut in the tree where he first settled down on September 1st.

His dispute with the local government involved compensation for his 1,200 square meters property which was razed to make way for a new highway.

In line with regulations, he was eligible for compensation amounting to 390,000 yuan (57,332 US dollars), which includes three apartments covering 270 square meters in a new residential area in the village and 310,000 yuan in cash, the report said.

But Chen requested 800,000 yuan and was turned down by the local government.

One day before his detention last November, he reached an agreement with the local authorities for him to receive 800,000 yuan (117,604 US dollars) in compensation. The agreement also meant that he would not be arrested when he left the tree.

But it seems the agreement was ignored, as he was arrested hours after leaving the tree, and the compensation has still not been paid. Chen's tree house was also demolished.

A village official said that one month before the protesting villager left his tree house the local government had promised not to arrest him.

But the official said that Chen then brought pesticides, knives, and a loudspeaker to the tree, and used the loudspeaker to urge local residents to resist demolition and the highway construction. Xinhuanet.com reported Friday that villagers including Chen's relatives blocked a highway twice in September and October in 2009, causing major traffic jams.

Chen's lawyer, Xiong Renqin, said his client was just voicing his opinions and had not intended to disrupt traffic.

The lawyer said Chen told him that he had not encouraged the villagers to come to voice their opposition to the demolitions.

Chen Maoguo did not announce whether he will appeal the sentence during the trial at the Fengjie county courthouse.