A teacher scolds one boy and holds another by his ear in a primary school playground in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. A recent spate of child abuse cases in schools has alarmed many parents. Photo: CFP

China's top judge Zhou Qiang Thursday said that the Supreme People's Court (SPC) aims to foster an environment conducive to the healthy development of minors by publicizing several child abuse cases, after a string of sexual offences against children by their teachers led to widespread public outrage.

Zhou made the remarks at the SPC's open day event, which invited attendance from students ahead of International Children's Day.

On Wednesday, the SPC publicized three cases, including the execution of a teacher who sexually assaulted seven schoolgirls, in an effort to reduce crimes against minors.

From April 2009 to June 2011, a village primary school teacher surnamed Bao molested seven students, aged 9 to 10, and raped six of them. Bao, 47, forced the girls to watch pornographic pictures and videos. He even took nude pictures of the victims and filmed the rapes.

Bao was sentenced to death and was recently executed.

The SPC said it would guide courts at various levels to impose harsher punishments for child abuse in accordance with the law, and stick to the principle of "minimum tolerance and maximum protection."

Lü Xiaoquan, research director of the Beijing Zhongze Women's Legal Counseling and Service Center, told the Global Times that although the legal system in China doesn't follow a system based on judicial precedents, SPC guidance offers strong references for grassroots-level courts.

In the last three weeks, at least eight cases of sexual abuse against schoolgirls have been reported in Hainan, Anhui, Shandong, Henan, Hunan and Guangdong provinces.

Mao Lixin, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Shangquan Law Firm, told the Global Times Thursday that the SPC had showed its resolve to severely punish child abuse in a timely manner, however, harsh punishments won't be enough to solve the problem.

"After all, judicial punishments are the last line of defense and it only comes after the damage has been done. Schools, parents and all of society should perform their obligations according to the law for protection of minors so as to weave a safety net for children's rights and interests," Mao said.

The SPC blamed factors including economic and social transition, inadequate awareness of protection mechanisms, and incomplete management and prevention measures for the rise of child molestation cases, according to Xinhua.

A local court in Wanning, Hainan Province, Tuesday pressed rape charges against a primary school principal and a government employee who allegedly sexually assaulted six schoolgirls aged between 11 and 14 in mid-May.

The father of one of the victims told the Global Times Thursday that two medical examinations showed the girls' hymens were intact, but the parents didn't believe the results. "We want a fair trial and severe punishments for the two men," he said.

The incident led to widespread public anger, with a variety of protests staged against the crimes.

Ye Haiyan, an outspoken advocate for sex workers, recently posted a picture online of her holding a sign outside the Hainan school. The sign read "principal, call me if you want to get a room, and leave the pupils alone," with the hotline number of a women's rights aid center.

Ye's move made a lot of Web users follow suit. Thousands posted pictures online featuring themselves holding a sign with the same words.

Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences, told the Global Times that the rising number of molestation cases by teachers is a reflection of the social atmosphere. "The laws of the jungle often prevail at the grassroots level especially in rural areas. Some people, who hold public offices, infringe upon others' interests and bully underdogs," Chu said.

He noted that living in such a society, some teachers follow this trend and vent their frustrations toward those who are vulnerable, namely their students, through verbal abuse or physical punishment. "Sexual abuse is an extreme example of such behavior," Chu said, noting that the only way to turn this vicious cycle around is to make changes to society.