CAIRO, Aug 29 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt’s prosecution has ordered an investigation into an incident earlier Monday, which saw a low-ranking policeman reportedly kill a microbus driver in Cairo.

A driver was reportedly killed by a police officer following a dispute between the two of them in Maadi district, south of Cairo. The officer shot the driver in his neck in the midst of the argument, as the driver died on the spot, according to police investigations.

A security source told Aswat Masriya that the policeman was arrested and will be referred for prosecution to undergo investigations.

In the aftermath of the incident, microbus drivers in the Maadi area started a strike, calling for retribution for their fellow driver. 

The incident follows a string of assaults by police officers against civilians. In February, a driver was killed by plainclothes police officer in the district of Darb Al-Ahmar in Cairo after an argument over the fare, while a tea vendor was killed in the New Cairo area by a low-ranking policeman in April during a dispute over the price of a cup of tea.

Human rights groups and lawyers repeatedly complained about what they see as a culture of impunity among officials in Egypt and say that police brutality is widespread.

Authorities however reiterate that these are "individual cases" and that perpetrators are questioned in accordance with the law.

New police law amendments were passed by the parliament in August prohibiting police officers from abusing their power by mistreating citizens in a way that violates the law and constitution.

Police brutality was one of the triggers of the Jan. 25, 2011 uprising, sparked by protests on Police Day in Egypt aimed to draw attention to the police's use of excessive, at times fatal, force.