A government official in Yibin county, Sichuan, gave the worst alibi for charges of underage prostitution. And the worst part is that the courts let him off with a 5000 Yuan fine! (article)
Lu Yumin paid two men 6000 Yuan so that he could have sex with a 13-year-old girl (by comparison a typical prostitute in the region costs 100 Yuan, according to China Daily). His defense at trial was that he didn't know the girl was underage. Apparently the threshold for child rape in China is 14, and that's what Mr. Lu thought he was getting.
I'm not sure where to begin to describe how unbelievably disgusting this whole situation is. It's bad enough that a government official is caught paying for sex; it's worse that he was actually looking for a 14-year-old, who turned out to be a year younger. And that he was let off with a slap on the wrist because it is a reasonable defense to claim he didn't know her real age.
This case is saying that it's OK for government officials to pay for sex with minors as long as they "believe" the minors are older than 14.
Fortunately, there is quite a bit of outrage from the citizens. From the message board: "This excuse is insulting to the intelligence of Chinese people and the world."
3 comments:
The threshold is only 14? That's a scary thought.
I don't know what country you come from but where I'm from (USA) Politicians and paying for sex go together like bread and butter.
Oh, I see you're from Jersey. Then you must remember well Jim McGreevey, as well as my own home state Governor Eliot Spitzer. I'm willing to bet they'd fuck a child if they thought they could get away with it. The difference is, in China, you can get away with it.
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