Chinese authorities have arrested a local government official and a businessman suspected of sexually assaulting a woman at a business gathering, in a case that has sparked outrage in the country. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.

The incident occurred at a karaoke bar in Hangzhou after an official dinner involving executives from several companies and officials.

Local authorities said an investigation had found the woman was sexually assaulted by both men, adding that she had been pushed to the ground by one of them, causing injuries to her lower back. Both suspects have been dismissed from their positions.

Sexual misconduct at drinks events is not unheard of in China, but arrests in such cases - particularly involving public officials - is less common.

In this case, the victim's injuries and the alleged involvement of a senior official and business executive from a state-owned company have fuelled public anger over what they see as an abuse of power in a workplace hierarchy.

The case has been trending heavily on local social media platforms. On Wednesday, it was featured in seven of Weibo's top 50 trending topics. One related topic received more than 68 million views, while several others received one to six million views each.

"Going to a drinks gathering does not mean consenting to be harmed, and drinking alcohol does not mean voluntarily consenting to abuse," one comment on Weibo read.

Many social media conversations have also discussed China's "drinking table culture" - especially because of reports that the woman was asked to drink heavily before allegedly being taken to the karaoke lounge.

"What is the rationale behind having women accompany men in drinking? Hopefully this practice can be eliminated," another comment said.

A comment piece in China Women's News said just dealing with the individuals involved would not be enough. It said there was a need to define the "boundaries of business interactions through institutional measures, cutting off the grey areas where power becomes entangled with social obligations".