BEIJING (AFP) - A school pupil was arrested in China for hiring hitmen to kill his father and sister because of the pressure they put on him to study, reports said on Monday, highlighting educational stress in the country.

The teenager was detained in the central province of Henan following the death of his father Gao Tianfeng - a senior court official - and his 20-year-old sister, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local police.

"According to the police interrogation of the boy, the junior hired two men that he got to know via the Internet to kill his father and elder sister, because 'they had given him too much pressure in study'," Xinhua reported.

Surveillance cameras showed two men had climbed over a wall and entered the house in Zhoukou at the time of the murder early on Sunday, the report said, adding that two of the three suspects allegedly involved, including Gao's son, had been held.

Police could not be reached for comment by AFP on Monday.

China has long been known for its highly disciplined approach to education, and parenting methods have drawn criticism for putting too much pressure on children to pass highly-competitive exams.