Official arrested on suspicion of rape

An official suspected of raping more than 10 teenage girls in Yongcheng, Central China's Henan province, was arrested on Tuesday.

Li Xingong, former deputy secretary-general of the Party committee of Yongcheng city and former deputy director of the Party committee office, was arrested on suspicion of raping 11 teenage girls since the second half of last year, Zhang Hao, a spokesman for Yongcheng police, told China Daily.

Li, 43, was caught having sex with a girl in a car near a middle school in Yongcheng around 7 pm on May 8, Zhang said.

The girls are under the protection of Yongcheng police, he added.

Zhang denied online speculation that the number of victims could reach more than 100.

Zhang would not disclose more details but said the investigation is still going on and the privacy of the victims should be respected.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, Li also confessed to the police about an accomplice, a former middle school student in Yongcheng. She is also in police custody.

As Li's lover, she helped to coerce the schoolgirls to have sex with him, the report said.

Li was also a teacher at Yongcheng Vocational College and had given lectures to art majors at the college, according to a college employee named Ma.

Li has worked for more than 20 years at the Party committee office of Yongcheng, according to Wang Mingqi, the director of the office.

"Government leaders in the city are enraged by the case and have ordered a thorough investigation," Wang said.

Li was also the head of a government office dedicated to making the city a national tourist attraction and a leading city in Henan province in terms of urban greening and sanitation.

The education bureau of Yongcheng city denied any knowledge of the case.

"I never heard of such a thing," said Huang Chuanyin, chief of the bureau. "Nobody and no government institution has informed us of that," he said.

Contact the writers at xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn and shibaoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

Zhang Leilong and Xiong Yibo contributed to this story.