Police officer investigated for rape in Guilin

A police substation head has been suspended pending further investigation on suspicion of being involved in the rape of a 13-year-old girl in Guilin city's Quanzhou county in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The victim, who is attending a junior high school, told police in January that she was raped by three men from Jan 17 to 19, after she was forcefully taken to three hotels by three women and a young man. One of the women went to the same school as the victim but has left the school.

After preliminary investigations, the unnamed police substation head was believed to be one of the men who raped the girl, and he was detained for a month.

But local authorities later did not issue an arrest warrant against the police officer saying that they lacked evidence.

The case has raised great concern among residents as the police substation head, who was newly appointed to his post, had not received any punishment.

On Saturday, the autonomous region's public security department said it will make further investigations and that the findings will be made public.

Those who are found to have violated laws in the case will be severely punished, local media quoted authorities as saying.