School bus driver nabbed for alleged rape

HARBIN - A school bus driver who is suspected of raping a junior high school student in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province has been caught, police said.

The driver, surnamed Liu, and a man surnamed Wang who allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl on Nov 30 in Sizhan township in the city of Zhaodong were captured on Dec 2 and 13, respectively, according to a statement issued by the city's public security bureau on Friday.

Liu confessed after being caught. Wang, who ran away after the girl's family called the police, was captured in Beijing, the statement said.

Liu and Wang allegedly forced the girl to go to a hotel and raped her, according to the girl's parents.

They said Liu had forced the girl to maintain sexual relations with him for over a year and threatened to kill her family if she told anyone.

Her parents called the police after they found the girl hiding in her classmate's home for two days following the rape that allegedly occurred on Nov 30.

Liu was not a licensed bus driver, according to registration records kept by a local taxi company that operated the bus. Company managers said the company was not aware of the drivers' qualifications.