Chinese man scammed into buying ‘sacred’ vegetable
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 March, 2016, 11:47am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 March, 2016, 11:47am
Stephen Chen
A man from southern China has been scammed into a buying what he was told was a “sacred root” in the shape of a man, according to a news website report.
The man from Xiaogan in Hubei province paid 8,000 yuan (HK$9,500) for the strange-shaped yam, Cnhubei.com reported.
Ancient Chinese believed that a plant in human shape was given life by heaven and anybody eating them could improve their health and prolong their life, the report said.
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But the yam, which the man bought from a farmer on roadside in Xiaochang county, was created by putting the plant in a special container to manipulate its growth, according to the article.
Police were quoted as saying that many people across the country had been cheated by similar scams.
