Gang of 19 Chinese men who posed as pretty women online convicted of soliciting prostitutes
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 21 January, 2016, 2:56pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 21 January, 2016, 5:11pm
Nectar Gan
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The three leading members of the gang were jailed at Guangzhou’s Haizhu District Court on Wednesday. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A criminal gang of 19 Chinese men pretended to be pretty women on social media to charm potential clients looking for prostitutes, mainland media reports.
The men, who were convicted of soliciting prostitutes in Guangzhou on Wednesday, used the mobile messaging application, WeChat, to approach and recruit clients and also organise women prostitutes to meet them later in hotels, the Information Times reported on Thursday.
Gang members downloaded photographs of attractive women to use on their WeChat profiles so that potential clients thought they were women, Guangzhou’s Haizhu District Court, in Guangdong province, was told.
The head of the gang was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined 300,000 yuan on Wednesday, while another two key members were jailed for five and six years respectively and fined 100,000 yuan.
Social media has become an popular platform for soliciting prostitutes in China.
Although authorities have launched large crackdowns against such crimes, the trend continues.
