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Chinese ‘diamond bachelor’ cons 3 women, uses ill-gotten funds to lavish gifts on real lover

Man claims victims were eager to date him and willing to send him money

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A man in China was jailed for conning three women out of US$75,000 and then using the money to buy gifts for his girlfriend. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock
Alice Yanin Shanghai

A man in China has been jailed for conning three women out of a total of 540,000 yuan (US$75,000), using the money to present himself as a “diamond bachelor” and lavish gifts on his “real girlfriend”.

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When arrested by police in Wugong county, Shaanxi province, northwestern China, the man, identified as Wang, did not acknowledge his crime but defended himself by claiming that the victims “were willing to date him and were willing to send money to him,” according to Jiupai News.

At the end of last year, a woman reported to the police that Wang, whom she had been dating for several months, had borrowed money from her under false pretences. He used various excuses, including claims that his sister had cancer, that he needed to buy an electric bike and a mobile phone, and that he had to pay medical bills for his own kidney problems.

When the woman asked him to return the money, Wang initially promised to do so but repeatedly delayed repayment, citing various reasons. Eventually, he cut off all contact with her.

Police discovered that two other women had also fallen victim to Wang’s scam. All three victims are single and divorced, in their 30s, according to the police.

Love scams are on the rise in China, with victims often draining their savings or borrowing from relatives and online platforms, leading to significant financial strain. Photo: Shutterstock
Love scams are on the rise in China, with victims often draining their savings or borrowing from relatives and online platforms, leading to significant financial strain. Photo: Shutterstock

Wang, who posed as a wealthy businessman, was actually a migrant worker with a low income and no car or house, as revealed by the police investigation.

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