A teacher at a private school in Shanghai was recently sentenced to two and a half years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female middle school student. He was also barred from working in the education sector for three years.

The case sparked public discussion about the punishments meted out to teachers who abuse students. Some netizens complained that the penalty was too lenient, and said the teacher should have been punished more severely.

According to a series of guidelines released by the Ministry of Education in October 2014, teachers found to have sexually harassed students or had "inappropriate relations" with them will receive an official warning, be demoted, fired or reported to the police, depending on the specifics of each case.

From the court's perspective, the severity of the punishment depends on the circumstances, said Yao Jianlong, a professor of law and director of the school of criminal justice at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

"Sexual assault is a collective concept and has several forms, including molestation and rape. Therefore, the penalty varies from less than five years to more than 10, taking into account the details of different assaults and the consequences," he said.

In the Shanghai case, the teacher was accused of molestation via groping and forcing the student to kiss him, according to Yao: "It's hard to say whether the punishment is lenient or severe because every case is different."

To better protect children, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice released a series of guidelines in 2013. The guidelines stipulated that adults who guard, educate, train, assist or nurse adolescents will face severe punishment if they are found to have sexually assaulted their charges.