Lawyer for rape suspect quits

The lawyer for a high-profile gang rape suspect may have quit because he could not make a statement to free the accused of charges, Beijing Times reported on Thursday.

The newspaper cited an anonymous informant as saying that Xue Zhenyuan, Li Tianyi's lawyer, quit because Meng Ge, Li's mother, was too demanding and asked Xue to announce Li was not involved in the case.

Xue confirmed to media he had quit but declined to give a specific reason.

Li Tianyi, 17, son of Li Shuangjiang, a famous singer in the People's Liberation Army, was accused of gang raping a girl with four other males at a hotel in Beijing in February and was detained days later.

The case will not be open to the public as Li is not an adult, according to the law, media reported earlier.