torsdag 26. september 2019

Chinese relatives marry each other 23 times in two weeks in alleged scam

Eleven members of the same Chinese family allegedly staged 23 phoney marriages within two weeks -- all to access free housing. According to state media, the scam started when a man named Pan heard about an urban renewal compensation scheme in one part of a small village in Lishui city, eastern Zhejiang province.

Local residents were being offered a modest apartment measuring at least 40 square meters (430 square feet), even if they didn't own property, the People's Daily reported. Pan quickly re-married his ex-wife who lived in the village, only to divorce her again six days later. Other family members soon joined the alleged scam -- Pan married his sister, then her sister-in-law, then Pan's father wed a few relatives, even his own mother, within the same period.