SHIJIAZHUANG - The head of a county court in north China's Hebei Province has been detained after he confessed to hiring a man to murder his mistress, police said Wednesday.

Li Wenhui, head of the People's Court of Anping County, is suspected of hiring an ex-prisoner to kill a female worker at a hospital in the city of Hengshui, according to a police officer from the Hebei Provincial Public Security Bureau.

The woman was killed on Feb. 20 and her body was left in Linxian County in the neighboring province of Shanxi. Police captured the suspect, surnamed Liang, who told the police he was hired by Li to kill the woman.

After being captured on April 4, Li confessed that he and the victim had an extramarital affair, and he decided to have her killed after she persisted in pursuing the relationship.