Anhui police promised Monday to continue investigation into a teenager assault after the victim's mother posted a desperate note for help on the Internet.

Police said the suspect, a 17-year-old boy surnamed Tao, had been detained since last September in Hefei for allegedly setting fire on a girl who turned him down.

Police previously claimed they could not proceed with investigation because hospitalization of the victim had postponed forensic tests.

The case caused a public outcry after the victim's mother went online last week to call for help, describing the gruesome details of the assault and posting photos of her daughter's bandage-wrapped face.

A hospital diagnosis indicated that about 32 percent of girl's body had been burned.

Tao and the girl, surnamed Zhou, both studied in a middle school in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province. Zhou had been shunning Tao before her parents even got her on sick leave for a year and arranged for her to transfer schools to avoid the boy.

Frustrated and angry, Tao, the son of a low-level functionary couple, went to Zhou's home, poured gasoline on her face, and lit it with a lighter. Zhou's aunt heard screams and came to rescue, putting the fire out and rushing Zhou to hospital. Tao was arrested the following day.

Zhou's mother said in the online note that the family had been struggling to pay for the costly treatment and she hoped the case could be processed faster so the family could soon get the compensation to cover the treatment.

安徽警方周一承諾將繼續調查一樁青少年惡性襲擊事件。受害人的母親此前在網上發帖求助。

據稱，17歲的犯罪嫌疑人陶某某在去年九月縱火焚燒一名拒絕他求愛的少女。警方表示，他此后一直羈押在合肥市第一看守所。

警方先前稱，因受害人正在接受醫治，難以開展傷情鑒定，故調查暫時無法繼續進行。

受害人的母親上周在網上發帖求助，提供了這次襲擊的有關細節，令人毛骨悚然；她同時上傳了照片，展示女兒纏滿繃帶的臉。自此本案在公眾中引起軒然大波。

醫院的診斷證明，女孩全身32%的面積被燒傷。

家住安徽省省會合肥市的陶某某和女孩周某是中學同學。周某一直躲避陶某某的追求；后來，周某的父母甚至幫她辦了一年病休，并安排周某轉學以避開陶某某。

陶某某的父母都是普通的公務員。他求愛受挫，心生憤懣，于是來到周某的家中，將打火機燃油潑在女孩臉上并點燃。周某的阿姨聽到尖叫聲趕來將火撲滅，并將周某送醫急救。事件發生后，陶某某一直被羈押在看守所。

周某的母親在帖子中說，為了支付女兒昂貴的醫療費用，家中已經捉襟見肘。她希望此案早日進入司法程序，從而得到應有的賠償，救治周巖的傷情。