Police in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, are investigating a case in which a former detention center inmate claims he was sexually assaulted by a fellow inmate.

The former inmate, a 17-year-old man surnamed Xiang, told news website thecover.cn that he was assaulted several times at a detention center in the city's Lucheng district last year.

In an online statement released on Tuesday, the police said they are investigating possible violations of the law and Communist Party of China disciplinary regulations.