A Shenzhen city government official is under investigation after he held an 11-year-old girl around the neck in an alleged bid to sexually molest her in a restaurant.

Lin Jiaxiang, 58, Party secretary of the Shenzhen Maritime Affairs Bureau, was seen in a restaurant surveillance video tape clashing with the girl's parents.

The parents demanded an explanation after the girl ran back to their table crying, saying that Lin grabbed her neck and tried to drag her into the men's room, Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.

The girl said she was helping Lin as he asked her where the men's room was in the lobby of the Xinmeiyuan Restaurant in Shenzhen about 8:40 pm last Wednesday.

He attacked her at the door of the men's room, the girl said, but she managed to flee.

The tape showed the girl guiding Lin to the men's room. She is seen running away soon after this.

The tape then showed the girl's parents confronting Lin in the lobby.

Lin reportedly refused to apologize and claimed he was a high-ranking government official.

Lin is seen in the tape telling the parents that he did grab the girl by the neck.

"Yes, I did it," Lin said. "What can you do about that? You want money for that? Just give me a price."

Lin then shouted that he was sent by the Ministry of Transportation and was an official "with the same level as your city mayor."

"You dare to fight with me? Just wait and see what I can do," he said on the tape.

The video clip later was uploaded onto the Internet and caused fury among online users.

China News Service said Lin was taken away by police that night but was bailed out by a local resident the next day.

The Shandong native then went to Shanghai for a business meeting but was summoned back for inquiry, China News Service said.

Lin was now suspended from work and would be "severely punished," Wang Jianhua, deputy head of the maritime bureau said, citing decisions from the Ministry of Transportation.

The girl's mother, surnamed Xie, told Beijing News that her daughter now refused to go to school unless her mother sat beside her during classes.

"She repeatedly complains that she is scared and swears that she will never dine at a restaurant again," Xie said.

Xie said her family was not interested in a compensation offer but wanted Lin punished both administratively and to the full extent of the law.

Police in Shenzhen said they would handle the case impartially but could not detain Lin as the video clip did not show the girl being dragged into the men's room and so far no witnesses or evidence had emerged to support the clear intent of sexual molestation.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily, November 3, 2008)