An elementary school teacher in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been given a death penalty by a local court for raping four school girls, the youngest of whom was only nine years old.

Lin Guan, 26, a teacher at an elementary school in Beiliu, a county-level city under Yulin city, was accused of raping four school girls 14 times between the autumn semester of 2001 and the spring semester of 2003.

The names of the girls were not disclosed by the court.

According to the Intermediate People's Court of Yulin city, on the pretext of giving personal tutoring after afternoon classes, Lin raped the girls, aged between nine and 12.

In China, students usually have two semesters, usually, the Sep.-Jan autumn semester and the March-June spring semester.

Lin was also accused of sexual harassment of the girls in the classroom.

According to the relevant Chinese law, it is a felony to have sex with a female under 14 years of age.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2004)