BEIJING: A primary school teacher in China has been sentenced to death for raping and molesting about 11 students, the latest in a series of sexual assault convictions involving teachers.

Gao Daosheng, 59, was convicted on Tuesday of raping and molesting first-and second-graders in a school in Wuwei County in the city of Wuhu from the second half of 2011, said a statement issued by the Wuhu City Intermediate People's Court .

Five girls were frequently raped and six others were molested, all of them under 14 years old, it said.

The case was among a series of sexual assaults reported in primary schools across the country last year, prompting public anger over teachers' misconduct and concerns for the safety of students.

On Monday, Yang Shifu, a 56-year-old primary school teacher in Nanyang of central China's Henan province was sentenced to death with two years' reprieve for raping and molesting his pupils from 2012 to 2013.

