What happened?

Ye Qing, a police officer from Wanning Public Security Bureau, who confirmed the arrests of the two men. [Photo by Hai Nan / for China Daily]

The six girls are all students at Wanning Houlang Primary School. The first inkling that something was wrong came when their parents were called by a teacher who informed them that their daughters had not shown up for school on May 8.

In response, the school and parents launched a search of the city. When they failed to find the girls they turned to police for help.

Two of girls were found at a hotel in Haikou, more than 160 kilometers from Wanning, at about 5 pm the next day. The other four were discovered at the Wanning Luchunyuan Hotel on the morning of May 10, two days after being reported missing. When found, some of the girls had bruising on their wrists and all six appeared groggy, according to a report in The Legal Daily.

The father of one of the girls said the hotel security footage showed his daughter in an apparently groggy state as she went upstairs. He and other parents suspect that the girls had been drugged.

"My daughter said the principal wanted to sleep with her and offered her 2,000 yuan ($325), but she refused. He persisted in his attempts and offered her the money on two further occasions. My daughter said she continued to resist and protested with all her might, but she gradually lost consciousness," the Beijing Times quoted him as saying.

"My daughter said that when she awoke in the morning, she was partially dressed, and she discovered a sticky substance on her crotch. She claims that when Chen came out of the bathroom, he was only wearing his underpants," the father said.

Wanning's police, housing and education authorities would not comment when reached on Wednesday.

The room at the Luchuanyuan hotel, where some of the assaults are alleged to have taken place. [Photo by Hai Nan / for China Daily]

Confused laws

According to the current criminal law, child molestation is defined as an obscene act - such as inappropriate kissing, touching or hugging - committed on a child of either sex aged 14 or younger.

The sentence for child molestation is usually less than five years in prison, although it may be longer if the act is committed in public or involves a number of abusers.

Child rape is not defined as a specific crime in Chinese criminal law because it falls under the category of aggravated rape. The severity of the offence determines the sentence, which varies from three to 10 years, to life imprisonment or even the death penalty in the most extreme cases.