A woman and her accomplices in Longli County, Guizhou Province, China have been sent to prison for the masterminded scheme of a fraudulent marriage meant to dupe the husband by accusing him of going to visit a prostitute and consequently, the wife was supposed to divorce him without repaying the bride price.
The case has really gained much attention. The woman involved, Xiong, and her boyfriend, Li, were seeking help when they met with two men, Zhou and Song, whom they know online. The men reportedly said they could help facilitate loans, but instead suggested a scam.
According to the men, in the event of getting caught with a prostitute, a groom would lose the bride price, which exceeded over 100,000 yuan or about INR 11.3 lakh. She could then get out of the marriage by filing for divorce without paying it back. Though hesitant initially, Xiong eventually agreed to the plan after constant persuasion from her boyfriend and accomplices.
Later, Xiong met Bao, who was a man from the matchmaking agency. She wedded him after he paid 136,666 yuan (approximately INR 13.7 lakh) as a bride price and spent 48,000 yuan (about INR 4.8 lakh) on jewelry for her. They performed the wedding ceremony at Bao’s hometown in eastern Jiangsu province.
However, the plan fell apart when Bao grew suspicious of Li’s behavior during a dinner meeting. Li, pretending to be Xiong’s cousin, tried to convince Bao to visit a prostitute. Bao, already doubtful, alerted the police, who intervened before the scam could proceed.
The case was tried earlier this month in Longli County Court, where Xiong, Li, Zhou, and Song were found guilty of fraud and were given prison terms ranging from three years to three years and 10 months. They were also ordered to pay compensation to Bao in the amount of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (US$2,700–US$4,100) each.
Also arrested was a man from the matchmaking agency, who had given false information about Xiong to Bao. The court has yet to decide his fate.
