Two teachers in east China's Anhui Province have sued local police after being arrested because of mobile phone messages they sent to local officials describing their headmaster as inept and an libertine.

The court in Wuhe county has accepted the case, local sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Li Maoyu, dean of studies of Wuhe First Middle School, and his deputy Dong Guoping used their mobile phones to send messages to government officials criticizing their headmaster Zhang Zhaomeng.

They said some county leaders took bribes and named Zhang Zhaomeng, according to a Wuhe police communique.

Police detained the two on August 25 on charges of slander.

In an interview with Xinhua, Li and Dong insisted that they just wanted to express their opinion that Zhang was unfit for his office.

The incident quickly made headlines across China, as only a few months ago a minor government officer in southwest China's Chongqing was arrested for mocking officials in mobile and internet messages.

Qin Zhongfei, an official with the Pengshui county education commission in  Chongqing, sent a satirical poem to several friends by phone and internet in August.

Thanks to pressure from the media and public opinion, Qin obtained bail in September and received an apology and compensation from local police.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2006)