A man has been arrested for allegedly keeping six women in secret underground rooms as sex slaves for two years and killing two of them.

Li Hao is said to have kidnapped hostesses at karaoke bars and locked them in two small rooms he had dug beneath a rented basement in Luoyang city in Henan province.

Mr Li lived in another home with his wife and son, who were unaware of the alleged kidnappings.

Local media said Mr Li was a former firefighter, and claimed he regularly raped the women and gave them food once every two days to keep them weak.