A school principal and a government employee have been detained in Hainan province on suspicion of sexually molesting six students, in a case that caused great concerns among parents.

The principal, identified only as Chen, and the employee are suspected of taking six sixth-grade girls from Houlang Primary School to hotels in Wanning and Haikou, capital of the province, according to the public security bureau of Wanning in China's southernmost island province.

Prosecutors are investigating the case, the bureau said.