A MAN who kept six women as sex slaves in a dungeon for up to 21 months at a time has been executed, the authorities in China said.

Li Hao was also convicted of murdering two of the women. He was convicted of offences including murder, rape and illegal detention and sentenced to death in November 2012.

A court spokesman said the death sentence had now been carried out.

The two women who died were killed by three of the others on Li's instructions and were also found guilty of murder. It said the three were shown leniency.

Li dug the dungeon under a basement and the women were held for between two and 21 months.

He tricked women who worked at hair salons, karaoke bars and a massage parlour into going there with him.

His dungeon in Luoyang city in central Henan province was discovered after one of the women escaped and went to police.

When Li was arrested in September 2011, he was a married man with an eight-month-old son. Li worked as a clerk with the Luoyang technical supervision bureau, a government department which deals with quality control.

He was sentenced to death in November 2012, as well as being deprived of his political rights and fined £1000.