Two arrested in child molestation scandal

The local prosecutor's office in Wanning, Hainan Province, approved the arrest of two child molestation suspects on Wednesday, after parents of six elementary schoolgirls claimed that a forensic examination report issued Tuesday contradicted a previous one on Friday.

The office also announced that they had collected enough evidence to arrest an elementary school principal surnamed Chen and a local government official surnamed Feng on suspicion of molesting the girls.

The two men, who stayed overnight with the six girls in hotels, were officially removed from their posts and expelled from the Party Wednesday, China Central Television reported.

The parents also refused to sign the latest examination on four of the girls released Tuesday. The report said no sexual intercourse took place and their hymens were intact, while the other two did not get tested.

A father of one of the girls, surnamed Xiao, told the Global Times that the findings go against a previous examination on Friday night supervised by legal examiners. "Friday's examinations showed my daughter was assaulted and hurt, as were the other girls." Other parents also expressed doubts over the findings.

Ye Guobiao, deputy director of the city's police, told the Xinhua News Agency that doctors are only allowed to examine traumatic injuries on minors, but refused to comment on why the latest report mentioned their hymens.

The city declined Friday to make any comment regarding contact between the girls and the men before the final investigation results, adding that a special team is working on the case and giving it priority.

The gynecology and obstetrics department of Wanning People's Hospital, where the two examinations took place, could not be reached for comment.

"My daughter is suffering from dizziness and we're trying to comfort her," said Xiao, adding that the parents are pressing the police to present the results of the first examination.

A gynecologist surnamed Wang with Peking University Third Hospital told the Global Times that it is questionable that there were different results for a simple medical examination that did not require any instruments.

Cheng Hai, a Beijing-based lawyer, told the Global Times that the condition of the hymen cannot be used to make a rape charge, but the priority now is to protect the girls from outside disturbances and present their testimonies accompanied by the parents.

"Punishment for molestation is much lighter than rape, and details provided by the girls are essential to determining if sexual assault took place and what the men's intentions were," said Cheng.

Gan Yuanchun, a Hunan-based lawyer, said the judicial standard for raping young girls aged under 14 suggests that mere contact of sexual organs would be considered as completion of a crime.