China officials probed over alleged abuse of teen

[May 28, 2013]  BEIJING (AP) -- Two Chinese village officials have been suspended from work after they were accused of handcuffing a 13-year-old girl and parading her down a street as punishment for accidentally splashing water on an official vehicle.

The county government of Hezhang in southwestern China's Guizhou province said Tuesday on its official website that it would investigate the online allegations against Kele village's party chief Yuan Zehong and police officer Chen Song.

An unsigned account posted to China's active social media Monday said Yuan and other village officials got into a verbal and physical scuffle with the girl's aunt before handcuffing the teenager. It said the girl was publicly paraded for 20 minutes.

The accusations caused uproar in China's social media, which have increasingly been used to expose abuses of power.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.