Police in central China have arrested 11 people suspected of being involved in a child sex abuse ring.

Authorities in Weishi County, near the city of Kaifeng in Henan province, had investigated the case after being tipped off by the public, according to a statement by Kaifeng police on its Weibo microblog on Sunday.

The suspects include a married couple surnamed Li and Liu, which the statement said repeatedly used coercion to force underage female students into have sex with two men surnamed Zhou and Zhao, both said to be businessmen.

Arrests for Zhou and Zhao had been approved on the suspicion of rape, and for Li, Liu, and two others on the suspicion of forced prostitution. Five more suspects have been detained, and are being investigated.

Editor: Sarah O’Meara.

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