Gym school heads held for molestation

Two heads of a well-known gymnastics school in Central China's Hunan province have been detained in an alleged molestation case in November, and a local procuratorate has returned the case to local police for further investigation.

"The two presidents are still in Changsha's detention center and we are still searching for evidence," Luo Li, a police officer from Kaifu district public security bureau of Changsha, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Liu Zhiqiang, 48, former president of the Hunan Provincial Gymnastics School in Changcha, was alleged to have sexually assaulted six girls since 2012, and was detained in November.

During the investigation into Liu's case, police found that Zeng Rong, 52, the former vice president, also allegedly sexually assaulted girls and detained him in the same month, said Luo.

Liu was responsible for managing gyms and students' dorm buildings, while Zeng was in charge of safety in the school's classrooms.

The assault occurred in the president's office, said Liu Weimin, a worker from the Hunan provincial gymnastics management center, which is near the school, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported.

The two men were officially arrested in December and transferred to the district's procuratorate in January, but the case was returned to the branch on March 14 for more evidence, said Luo.

Founded in 1985, the school has fostered many outstanding athletes who have won six Olympic gold medals. Currently, there are 50 students aged between 8 and 12 years old, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

Students live at the school and are forbidden from leaving the premises without permission in order to ensure their safety and high quality training, Liu Weimin told the Global Times.

Experts believe that the school's style of management will make it hard for police to collect evidence.

"This management system makes it difficult for the outside world to supervise the school and leaves loopholes in the collecting of evidence," Wang Sixin, a law professor with the Communication University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday.