18 stand trial for fraud over café scam

Eighteen people stood trial on charges of fraud on Tuesday, a Beijing court said.

The suspects allegedly swindled people out of at least 200,000 yuan ($32,350) by taking them to a café between December 2012 and May 2013, where they were charged excessive prices, according to a statement from Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court.

Luo, the principal suspect and the owner of the café, paid the other 17 defendants, including waitresses and security guards, to befriend people and bring them to the café, where they were pressured to buy extra items then forced to pay large bills, the statement said

The suspects were divided into two groups. The females were responsible for chatting with the victims, while the males threatened any who balked at paying, the statement said.

The suspects ordered food and drink in the café, such as cups of coffee and bottles of wine, as they talked with their victims, and then asked the victims to pay, said the statement, adding the minimum consumption on each bill was 300 yuan.

A suspect surnamed Hu told the court she first talked with male strangers via Wechat, a popular voice-messaging tool, in the aim of luring them to the café where she would ask them to pay for her.

Hu would get about 25-percent commission from each payment, the statement said.

Another suspect surnamed Lu, who was a security guard at the café, said he violently forced a customer to pay money last year, according to the statement.

Lu told the court he hit and kicked the customer when the victim refused to pay, adding he even slapped him when the man intended to call the police, the statement said.

The case is still being heard.