Xu Tao, a 27-year-old deputy head of Xiangtan county in Hunan province, was dismissed on Tuesday and will be appointed to a lower position, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

In March, netizens exposed that the 27-year-old civil servant was promoted to deputy county head after working at several positions in only five years and while studying full time for a master's degree at Xiangtan University since 2010.

The rapid ascendancy of the young official has triggered public concern about whether the unusually quick promotion is justified.

According to online posts, Xu's father is the former director of the People's Congress of Yuhu district in Xiangtan county, and his mother is the deputy director of the Yuhu district prosecuting department, though the post provided no evidence that can connect his family background with his fast promotion.

An investigation conducted by the Hunan provincial government in March showed there are no severe violation behaviors such as cheating during the promotion of Xu, but the process of promotion didn't strictly follow regulations.

Six officials involved in Xu's promotion were punished, according to the investigation.