A man in Shenzhen has been arrested after he apparently posed as a real estate mogul from Hong Kong to lure at least six women into bed — one of whom he “borrowed” RMB180,000 (HKD206,500/USD26,500) from, proposed to, and impregnated.
According to mainland Chinese news outlets, a man going by the name Chan Yong-jun told six women that he and his family were wealthy Hong Kong real estate moguls, and he personally had a successful investment business on the side.
HK01 reports that Chan told his unwitting victims he lived in the five-star Shangri-La Hotel and had at least four luxury cars, and convinced them of his claims by often flashing a briefcase which appeared to contain loose diamonds, diamond rings, and RMB1 million.
One of Chan’s victims, a young woman surnamed Cheung, told mainland media that the fake fuerdai (or “second generation rich kid”) won her trust by introducing her to his elderly father, who later turned out to be just some old guy who was in on the con.
Cheung, who fell pregnant with Chan’s baby, said her “billionaire” beau even proposed to her — showing her confirmation of an appointment with a Hong Kong marriage registry as “proof” — and said he would buy them a luxury home in Shenzhen. Cheung’s family reportedly became suspicious after Chan asked his fiancée for RMB180,000 to front the renovation costs.
However, Chan apparently won Cheung over after showing her his briefcase of cash yet again and kneeling in front of her to “show his sincerity”. Not long afterwards, Cheung’s friends saw her husband-to-be being “intimate” with another young woman at a shopping center.
Enraged, Cheung, who was then five months pregnant, immediately went to the hospital and had an abortion, then reported Chan to the police.
Luohu police discovered that “Chan” was actually a recently released ex-convict surnamed Ban, who was sentenced to three years in prison sentence for fraud in September 2013. Authorities said he had tricked “at least” six women into relationships by posing both as a wealthy Hongkonger, and a rich American-Chinese jeweler.
The luxury cars he occasionally drove around were rentals, and the “loose diamonds” and rings he carried around were just cheap glass gems. But what about the RMB1 million? Well, turns out Ban had simply placed single RMB100 notes over stacks of “hell money” — you know, those joss paper offerings burned for the dead — which he’ll probably find very helpful in the near future, if his ex-fiancée has her way.
