Victim angered by lenient sentence for 'black jail' rapist

A security guard at a so-called black jail was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Beijing court yesterday for raping a young female petitioner, the victim's lawyer said.

Li Ruirui , a 21-year-old student who travelled to the capital in July to petition the central government over treatment she experienced at school, was lured into detention at a hostel by officials who said they could help her.

The hostel, one of the mainland's many illegal detention centres, was used to detain people from across the country who wanted to lodge complaints with the government. Abuses often take place inside these jails.

Li was raped by security guard Xu Jian , 26, who climbed into her bed while she slept in the early hours of August 4.

The minimum sentence for rape on the mainland is 10 years and the maximum is the death penalty.

Li's lawyer, Zhang Jing , said Fengtai District People's Court reduced the jail term for Xu because he turned himself in. He was also ordered to pay Li 2,300 yuan (HK$2,610) in compensation.

Zhang, from the Centre for Women's Law and Legal Services at Peking University's Law School, was seeking 100,000 yuan in compensation for Li's medical fees and mental distress. She said the compensation ordered by the court only covered medical and travel fees and did not take into account her emotional trauma.