KUNMING -- Prosecutors in Southwest China's Yunnan province appealed to a court on Monday against a ruling that sentenced an official to five years imprisonment for raping a four-year-old girl.

The Zhaotong City Procuratorate said "the sentencing was clearly inappropriate." The ruling sparked public outcry online with thousands of people saying the sentence was too light.

On Sep 24, the court in Daguan county found Guo Yuchi, an official who managed government staff sizing, guilty of raping a four-year-old girl.

The victim's family asked the procuratorate in Zhaotong, which administers Daguan, to lodge an appeal against the ruling.

The procuratorate filed the appeal to Zhaotong City Intermediate People's Court, a higher court to Daguan County Court.