CHANGSHA - A teacher has been detained on suspicion of molesting his female students in Central China's Hunan province amid public outcry sparked by recent exposures of smiliar cases nationwide.

The 57-year-old primary school teacher, surnamed Xu, offered to help some pupils with homework, and during the tutoring, he molested them, the local publicity office said Wednesday.

The headmaster of the school where Xu serves has been suspended from office. Officials and medical workers have been sent to counsel the victims, said Kuang Liqun, publicity head of Xinning county, where Xu's school is located.

In the most recent similar case, a 42-year-old second-grade teacher in the southern city of Shenzhen was detained on May 27 for allegedly molesting female pupils.

In Central China's Henan province, a 55-year-old teacher was arrested on May 23 for molesting multiple female students.

On May 14, a primary school headmaster and a government employee in Wanning city, Hainan province, were detained by police for suspectedly sexually assaulting six female students.