Man held for imprisoning, raping teenager in China

A man in China has been arrested for allegedly imprisoning a teenaged girl for 11 days in a cellar and raping her, police said Tuesday.

The man, surnamed Chen, is a migrant worker. He secretly dug a cellar in his rented house in a village in Zhejiang province earlier this year, Xinhua reported citing police.

On the night of June 22, he disguised himself as a private passenger carrier and took the 18-year-old (name withheld) on his electric tricycle from a karaoke bar in Jiaxing to a nearby corner and robbed her.

After taking away the girls' mobile phone, Chen forced her into the cellar of his rented house and locked her up with chains. Later, he repeatedly raped the girl, who is a native of Anhui province.

A few days later the imprisoned girl, somehow, managed to free herself with neighbours's help.

The man was arrested the same day. He had prepared the cellar, measuring three metres long, one metre wide and 1.5 metres high, which had an electric lamp and a fan inside. The walls were covered with concrete.

Chen confessed to police that he was influenced by online novels. He faces charges of robbery and rape.