A rapist who preyed on women walking alone in Beijing at night has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Chaoyang district court heard Xu Qingfei, 23, a migrant worker from Sichuan province, attacked three victims between September and October last year.

The first incident took place outside the south gate of Beijing International Studies University at about midnight on Sept 22, when Xu grabbed a 32-year-old woman surnamed Zeng by the throat and demanded cash. When he discovered she had no money, he beat her and sexually assaulted her.

Seven days later, he confronted a 25-year-old woman surnamed Li on an overpass near Zhujiangluzhou in Chaoyang district. He took 400 yuan and then attempted to rape her. Li managed to escape after convincing Xu that he would face serious penalties.

However, at 1 am on Oct 12 Xu beat and raped a 22-year-old woman surnamed Tian outside Shuangqiao subway station. He also stole 120 yuan from her purse.

Police detained the migrant worker shortly after the attack thanks to a description given by Tian.

The maximum punishment for rape in China is death, although judges took a lenient stance against Xu due to that fact he let Li go and confessed his crimes at the earliest opportunity.

Along with his prison sentence, Xu was fined 20,000 yuan and will lose his political rights for two years.