A former school principal and a former government clerk in Hainan province were convicted of raping primary school girls and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison by a local court on Thursday.

The No 1 Intermediate People's Court of Hainan province heard the cases of Chen Zaipeng, former principal of Wanning No 2 Primary School, and Feng Xiaosong, a former clerk in the city's property administration bureau.

Both were convicted of rape. Chen was sentenced to 13 and a half years and Feng Xiaosong to 11 and a half years. Feng vowed to appeal to a higher court during the hearing.