Li Ruirui, the 20-year-old rape victim who was assaulted after being ushered into a hotel by officials of her hometown, has teamed with Beijing prosecutors to challenge a verdict handed down ten days ago against the rapist.

On Dec 11, the Fengtai district court in Beijing sentenced 26-year-old Xu Jian to eight years in prison and to pay Li a compensation of 2,300 yuan ($337) for the Aug 4 rape.

The Fengtai procuratorate is now appealing the verdict, demanding a heavier sentence and claiming that there was a "misuse of law" by the court in the judgment.

The appeal is the latest chapter in a nightmarish year for Li, who in August traveled to the capital from Anhui province to deliver a petition to the State Bureau for Letters and Calls to complain that her teachers and classmates were ridiculing her.

The case has also brought to light many questions as to why Li and other petitioners were being housed in a hotel. Li also said she was snubbed by the judge to speak on her behalf in court.

"The sentence was too light and there was misuse of law in the judgment," the Fengtai procuratorate said in the appealing letter, which was faxed to China Daily yesterday.

Li is also appealing for higher civil compensation, her lawyer Zhang Jing told China Daily yesterday.

Xu Jian, the supposed guard at the hotel, raped Li during her alleged forced stay in August.

During the trial, it was confirmed that Xu broke into the victim's room where she was kept with other petitioners and raped her in front of them.

"Conducting the crime in public aggravates Xu's act, which makes him eligible for a sentence longer than 10 years, instead of the three- to 10-year sentence for normal rape cases," according to the procuratorate's appealing letter.

The court had said that Xu received leniency because he turned himself in to local police after fleeing to his hometown in Henan province. The procuratorate say the leniency is unjustified.

"The fact that Xu surrendered himself is confirmed. But given the seriousness of the case and the widely negative impression it has placed on society, mitigation is not suggested," the appeal states.

Zhang Jing said that the case more importantly brought physical and mental harm to her client. The family is seeking 100,000 yuan ($14,640) as compensation for Li's mental damage.

The verdict states that Li had suffered from schizophrenia and thus had low self-defense capabilities.

Li now lives with her family in a rural village in Anhui province. A call to her cell yesterday was answered by her mother, who said the family supported the appeal.