AFP, Beijing — A former Chinese lawmaker has been sentenced to death for raping over 20 middle-school girls [aged between 12 and 16] as part of a superstitious practice to prolong his virility, state press said Wednesday.
Wu Tianxi, 61, a member of the national parliament between 1998 and 2003, was sentenced to death by a court in central China's Henan province on Tuesday, the People's Daily reported on its website.
"Police investigators found that from spring 2005, Wu Tianxi began searching for virgin girls with the help of a young woman surnamed Liu," the report said.
"For the following two years, Wu Tianxi laid his black hands on over 20 young middle school girls."
He was arrested in April last year, it said.
Liu was also sentenced to 20 years for her part in the crimes. According to previous news articles, she was also reported as a former victim of Wu.
"As Wu Tianxi was getting old he believed that he could reinvigorate himself and enjoy a long life if he could capture the female essence and reinvigorate his masculinity," the report said, citing an old Chinese superstition.
"His goal was to bed 100 virgins."
Prior to his arrest Wu had an illustrious career. In 2002 he was named one of Henan's top entrepreneurs and appointed to a county-level advisory body run by the ruling Communist Party.
His death sentence was at least the third such penalty handed down by a Chinese court on Tuesday.
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From BBC: […] Wu, who served in the Chinese parliament from 1998 to 2003, had denied the charges saying he had engaged only in prostitution.
But the court in Nanyang city convicted him and handed down the death sentence for the rapes, which took place between early 2005 and April 2007.
Xinhua news agency reported earlier that the authorities in Henan [the poor central province of China] admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status.
Wu, the boss of a food company in Zhenping, was also fined 500,000 yuan ($69,000) by the court.
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From Reuters: […] Local police told Chinese media in November that they had sufficient evidence to prosecute Wu for raping 36 girls.
Wu was a delegate to the National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament, for five years from 1998 for his success at running a series of rural businesses which made him a model farmer lauded in state media.
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From Xinhua: […] Wu Tianxi, 61, former vice chairman of Zhenping County's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was handed a death sentence along with a fine of 500,000 yuan (US$68,966) for raping more than 20 girls between the ages of 12 and 16. He was also found guilty of organizing and running a crime syndicate, Nanyang Intermediate People's Court ruled, the local Oriental Today reported Wednesday.
In previous reports, Wu, the richest person in Zhenping, was said to have raped 36 virgin girls.
In the spring of 2005, Wu asked a woman named Liu Pei to look for virgins for him as he hoped to save his deteriorating health and wealth by having sex with virgins, the report said.
Wu, the general manager of a food company in Zhenping, was detained on April 17.
Wu denied all the rape accusations in previous trials, stating he only engaged in prostitution.
Sexual intercourse with a girl under 14 is considered statutory rape in China and a criminal offense. Prostitution is a misdemeanor.
Police and prosecutors admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status, according to a previous Xinhua news agency report.
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From china.org.cn: […] Wu became a delegate to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, in 1998 for successfully running a series of rural businesses that turned him into a model farmer. He also served as vice chairman of the Zhenping County Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body.
Wu Tianxi, 61, a member of the national parliament between 1998 and 2003, was sentenced to death by a court in central China's Henan province on Tuesday, the People's Daily reported on its website.
"Police investigators found that from spring 2005, Wu Tianxi began searching for virgin girls with the help of a young woman surnamed Liu," the report said.
"For the following two years, Wu Tianxi laid his black hands on over 20 young middle school girls."
He was arrested in April last year, it said.
Liu was also sentenced to 20 years for her part in the crimes. According to previous news articles, she was also reported as a former victim of Wu.
"As Wu Tianxi was getting old he believed that he could reinvigorate himself and enjoy a long life if he could capture the female essence and reinvigorate his masculinity," the report said, citing an old Chinese superstition.
"His goal was to bed 100 virgins."
Prior to his arrest Wu had an illustrious career. In 2002 he was named one of Henan's top entrepreneurs and appointed to a county-level advisory body run by the ruling Communist Party.
His death sentence was at least the third such penalty handed down by a Chinese court on Tuesday.
-----
From BBC: […] Wu, who served in the Chinese parliament from 1998 to 2003, had denied the charges saying he had engaged only in prostitution.
But the court in Nanyang city convicted him and handed down the death sentence for the rapes, which took place between early 2005 and April 2007.
Xinhua news agency reported earlier that the authorities in Henan [the poor central province of China] admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status.
Wu, the boss of a food company in Zhenping, was also fined 500,000 yuan ($69,000) by the court.
-----
From Reuters: […] Local police told Chinese media in November that they had sufficient evidence to prosecute Wu for raping 36 girls.
Wu was a delegate to the National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament, for five years from 1998 for his success at running a series of rural businesses which made him a model farmer lauded in state media.
-----
From Xinhua: […] Wu Tianxi, 61, former vice chairman of Zhenping County's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was handed a death sentence along with a fine of 500,000 yuan (US$68,966) for raping more than 20 girls between the ages of 12 and 16. He was also found guilty of organizing and running a crime syndicate, Nanyang Intermediate People's Court ruled, the local Oriental Today reported Wednesday.
In previous reports, Wu, the richest person in Zhenping, was said to have raped 36 virgin girls.
In the spring of 2005, Wu asked a woman named Liu Pei to look for virgins for him as he hoped to save his deteriorating health and wealth by having sex with virgins, the report said.
Wu, the general manager of a food company in Zhenping, was detained on April 17.
Wu denied all the rape accusations in previous trials, stating he only engaged in prostitution.
Sexual intercourse with a girl under 14 is considered statutory rape in China and a criminal offense. Prostitution is a misdemeanor.
Police and prosecutors admitted they faced high pressure in tackling the case because of Wu's political status, according to a previous Xinhua news agency report.
-----
From china.org.cn: […] Wu became a delegate to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, in 1998 for successfully running a series of rural businesses that turned him into a model farmer. He also served as vice chairman of the Zhenping County Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body.
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