Song Jingsong, deputy head of Guangdong Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute, was accused of raping a tour guide in Australia.

A Guangdong official accused of sexually assaulting a university student tour guide was found not guilty by a local court in Australia after the second hearing of the case, reported Nandu on August 19. Song had been accused of two counts of digital rape and two of indecent assault, according to an Australian newspaper, The Age.

Song Jingsong, deputy head of Guangdong Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute (an organization under the provincial government’s housing and urban-rural development department) travelled to Australia about one year ago. The tour guide, a 33-year old student, was assigned to Song’s government delegation. The two were observed to be  drunk and flirting after dinner, according to CCTV footage submitted from the hotel and Crown Casino.

A local Melbourne Magistrate Court heard the case early last year and granted Song bail last August. In his decision, the Judge found the prosecution’s evidence insufficient to support the conviction of four charges. The Judge also found that the jury could not determine if Song was aware the woman was not consenting to sexual activity, or may not have been consenting.

The prosecution, however, believed the case needed a further hearing and restricted Song from leaving the country, Nandu said. This time, the jury found Song not guilty on charges of rape and indecent assault on Monday, after just four days of the hearing, Nandu said.

The Guangdong government had stated that Song was on a private visit, and had not been sent by the Institute, reported Global Times. The story sparked anger among Internet users last year when news of Song’s arrest surfaced on Sina Weibo, after Chinese newspapers failed to report the story.

One user commented, “Now we have someone spreading the communist ‘seeds’ all over the world,” SCMP reported last year.

Photos: Hubei TV