SHENZHEN: Police here said yesterday that there was insufficient evidence to show Lin Jiaxiang, former Party chief of the Shenzhen maritime affairs bureau, had molested an 11-year-old girl.

Lin, 58, was said to have grabbed the girl by the throat and tried to force her into a men's toilet at a restaurant in Shenzhen on Oct 29.

"Our conclusion is that the behavior of Lin in this case cannot be sufficiently regarded as violating public security rules, including the charge of an indecent act toward a child," Luo Ruofeng, deputy director of Nanshan district police department, said at a press briefing.