A man has been sentenced in China to nine years and six months in prison for crimes of fraud, polygamy and theft after maintaining simultaneous relationships for four years with five women living in the same neighborhood.
The women were unaware of the others’ existence and were victims of an elaborate deception that the accused supported with false promises of wealthas reported this Thursday by the local media Jimu News.
The investigations began when two of the womenidentified as Xiao Jia and Xiao Hong, received calls from the police for the involvement of her ‘husband’ in a legal process.
At that moment, both They discovered that they were married to the same man. The initial complaint led to the arrest of Xiao Jun, who later confessed to the existence of three additional partners, and a total of two children resulting from the relationships.
The judicial investigation revealed that the man, identified as Xiao Jun and resident in the northeastern city of Jilin, used profiles on social networks and video game portals on-line to initiate contact with women.
He showed them falsified documents and photos of luxurious properties and vehicles to make people believe that he was the heir to a successful family business, a strategy through which he managed to establish ties and receive sums of money under the pretext of spending on homes or joint purchases.
Xiao Jun He presented himself as a businessmanbut also as official with connections in various sectorsan alleged privileged position that he used to pocket 280,000 yuan (39,340 dollars, 36,240 euros) from his partners.
According to Jimu Newsat the trial, held “recently”, it was confirmed that Xiao Jun used these funds to maintain a high standard of living.
In addition to the nine years in prison, Xiao Jun was sentenced to return the money earned to the women through scams.
The Prosecutor’s Office in charge of the case emphasized the “psychological damage” caused to the five women and the “breakdown of two families,” which caused two children to grow up suffering from a “lack of paternal love.”