Official held over sex offence allegations in NW China

A deputy from Weinan city's people's congress, Shaanxi province, was detained for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl, China Daily learned on Wednesday.

According to city police sources, the suspect, surnamed Zhang, is a wealthy businessman with four car showrooms, and other business interests.

Police were acting on information that alleged that the suspect engaged in a sexual act with the girl at a local hotel on May 25.

A police investigation revealed that the girl, born in 2000 and a student at a local junior high school, was taken to the hotel by two suspects, surnamed Liu and Ma. She was then introduced to Zhang by another two suspects, surnamed Lei and Yang.

Zhang and the other four suspects were detained by police on Saturday.

The investigation continues.