By Nie Ligao

A 12-year-old pupil who pulled out his hair until he was bald is suing his school, claiming a teacher's criticism caused his hair-pulling.

The family of the pupil, Xiao Yu, in the city of Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province, wants the school to publicly apologize and pay 100,000 yuan($14,650) as medical and emotional compensation.

The family claims Xiao Yu could not help pulling his hair since he read an article by a teacher surnamed Xing on the school's online network in April 2008.

The article said Xiao was dishonest. Thereafter, Xiao started pulling his hair unconsciously under the pressure of the post.

Finally, he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder by a local hospital.