Man arrested for forcing daughter into prostitution

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-15 07:16

KUNMING: A man who forced his 19-year-old daughter into prostitution in southwest China's Yunnan Province has been arrested, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The man, Liu Shihua, was arrested on Sunday for "providing shelter for prostitution", said a spokesman with Kunming Wuhua District Procuratorate.

Liu, a divorcee, along with his cohabitant Zhang Anfen, have forced his daughter, whose name was given by the spokesman as Chen Yan, into flesh trade since August 2008 in Kunming City.

On March 16, when patrol officers were to raid the man's home, Liu asked Chen and another girl surnamed Liu, who is Zhang's daughter, to exchange their clothes and had the officers fooled by taking the wrong girl.

After that, Liu and Zhang alleged that they had been tortured by cops during the interrogation. But investigation conducted by the prosecutors showed their claims were made up.

They also produced a medical certificate, which was later proved forged, claiming Chen was a virgin, hence could not be a prostitute.

The spokesman did not say how much Liu had earned from the deal and how many years he would be sentenced.

"According to the criminal laws of China, Liu will probably be sentenced less than five years into prison," said Wang Bing, a local lawyer with Yunnan Shengyuan Law Office. "But if the judge thinks what Liu has done is 'of a serious nature', he would be put behind bars longer than that."