SHANGHAI: A woman from Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, who claimed to be seeking a lover for a rich and beautiful woman (who was willing to lavish millions on the right man) found the perfect victim in a 72-year-old widower.

In exchange for her offer to arrange an introduction, the woman, Liu Yanhua, 37, took more than 230,000 yuan ($30,400) from Lin Shili, a septugenarian from Shanghai.

As punishment for defrauding the man, Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison, which she appealed yesterday at Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court. "I never intended to cheat him," Liu told the court, "He lied to me, too."

The case started last September, when Liu printed an advertisement in an underground publication in which she claimed to be a matchmaking agent who was looking for a lover on behalf of a rich and beautiful woman who would pay $11,880,000 to Mr Right.

"A down payment of $1 million will be paid to the man if initial communication on the phone goes well, and another $1 million will be paid when the woman meets the guy and likes him," the advertisement reads.

Lin called Liu, who asked him to pay a service charge of 1,760 yuan as well as a 235,800 yuan tax on the $1 million down payment. To make the offer seem credible, Liu asked a female employee to pretend to be the woman, whom they gave the name Luo Na, and to talk to Lin. Luo made frequent excuses for why the payment was delayed.

Luo agreed to fly to Shanghai to meet Lin, but then cancelled the trip, saying she had been injured in a car accident. Lin eventually called the police, who arrested Liu on December 28. Police raided the apartment Liu rented as an office. They seized the cell phones used to contact Lin and arrested four other women whom Liu had hired to work for the scam.

Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison and a fine of 30,000 yuan, which she appealed.

She told the intermediate court yesterday that she had printed an "exaggerated" advertisement she had copied from another newspaper to attract customers.

Her company provides consolation to lonely men over the phone, a service for which it charges. She said lots of people had called because of the advertisement, but only Lin actually paid. She said he paid by his own volition.

"When he started urging me for the $1 million, I told him he had to pay the tax, hoping to intimidate and stop him. But, to my surprise, he paid," Liu said.

"Then I asked him to pay more, again, because I wanted to stop him, and he paid again.

"When he pressed harder, I told him I would give his money back, and he agreed, but then called the police instead."

Liu had spent all the money by the time of her arrest. She accused Lin of lying to her.

"He was 72 at that time but claimed to be in his 60s because my advertisement required the lover to be under 70," she said.

Lin had paid another 300,000 yuan to a similar scam gang, whose members remain at large, Liu's sister told the judge after the hearing.

No verdict has been announced.

According to a report from police, 46 similar frauds were reported in the city, and 14 of them involved suspects in Dalian.

(China Daily 07/13/2007 page5)