The "Virgin" Schoolgirl Prostitutes of Kunming

(Southern Weekend)  June 3, 2009

According to Yunnan Information News, at 8pm on March 16, elementary school sixth-year students Liu Fangfang (15 years old) and Liu Lili (13 years old) were arrested by Wangjiaqiao police along with their parents and their father's friend Pu Enfu.

According to the mother Zhang Anfen, the family were watching television after dinner when the two girls said that they wanted to go out and have some barbeque food from the street.

"I heard a commotion outside the house and then I heard my daughters screaming for help.  So I rushed outside."  Zhang Anfen said that she saw seven or eight men outside and their daughters kneeling on the ground.  "I asked them what they were doing and why they were beating people without cause.  One of them flashed a badge and said 'We are from the police station and your bitches are prostitutes.'"  "I said that it was impossible because they are so young and still in elementary school."  Zhang Anfen said.  "But nobody was listening to me.  They beat me until I was also down on my knees."

Pu Enfu was visiting the Liu family.  "I went out and told them that there must be a mistake.  These are elementary school students and they couldn't be doing that kind of thing.  But they refused to listen.  I was also beaten until I was kneeling on the ground."  Pu Enfu said.  "There was another guy who was visiting the Liu family to look for a job.  They said 'Three males, three females -- that's just right'."

According to Liu Shihua and Pu Enfu, they were tortured when they were brought down to the police station.  "It was worse when we got to the police station.  Two police men interrogated me for three hours.  During this period, I had my hands cuffed behind my back and I had to maintain a kneeling position.  They wanted me to admit that the two girls were selling their bodies.  How can I admit to that?"  Liu Shihua said, "When I did not admit that, they beat me.  They placed a book on my body which they hit with police batons."  Li Shihua said.

On the morning of March 17, everybody was released together.  The police explained: Since they were not caught in the act, there was insufficient evidence to charge prostitution.

Huang Baolung, Deng Xiaojun and Zhang Mian were eyewitnesses at the scene on the evening of March 16 and they provided written testimony that "they observed a group of people beating the family with fists and police batons until they were down on their knees."

On March 18, Liu Fangfang and Liu Lili were examined medically and found to have suffered multiple soft-tissue injuries due to the police actions.

On March 19, Pu Enfu went to the Kunming Legal Hospital and was found to have suffered multiple soft-tissue injuries, facial injuries as well as fracture of the seventh and eighth ribs on the left side.

Liu Shihua and Zhang Anfen did not undergo medical examination because "they had no money to do so."

"I borrowed 3,000 RMB from my younger brother-in-law.  He was in Guizhou at the time, and he wired the money onto my bank card.  I withdrew the money and paid up."  Liu Shihua said.  "The police said that we assaulted them.  I had to pay 3,000 RMB in fines."

The police returned the 3,000 RMB later on.

Wangjiaqiao police station director Nie Tianjie said that the 3,000 RMB was not a fine.  "The 3,000 RMB was offered by Zhang Anfeng herself to the patrol officer Li Jiajun to treat his eye.  After we learned about this, we asked Li to return the 3,000 RMB to them.  Until this matter is resolved, the police station will pay for any medical expenses."

Also Nie Tianjie's description of events was very different from Zhang Anfen's story.  On the evening of March 18, a patrol officer and two interns were dining out when they came across Liu Fangfang who asked them if they wanted to "do it."  This drew their attention.

The patrol officer then observed Liu Fangfang hooking up with a 30-something-year-old pedestratian.  "At the time, Liu fixed the price at 50 RMB" and the two entered the rented house.  Then the man suddenly came out of the house with Liu Fangfang following him.  The patrol officer stopped them from leaving and told them to wait for the militia police to arrive.  Suddenly Zhang Anfen rushed out from the house and hit Li Jiajun in the eye.  Then Pu Enfu came out of the house swinging a chair in his hands.

"Our police workers identified themselves but were still met with resistance.  During the process of gaining control, different degrees of injury were inflicted on the principals.  We admit this point, and we have been in active contact with the principals in order to deal with this matter.  But they were not tortured for confession at the police station."  Nie Tianjie said.

Liu Fangfang and Liu Lili were examined at the Kunming Legal Hospital.  According to the diagnosis report from the Kunming Legal Hospital: The two girls are virgins.

On May 26, the Kunming City Wuhua public security bureau  negotiated with the principals over economic compensation.  But there were differences in opinion, so no settlement was reached.  The Wuhua public security bureau believed that the amount of 200,000 RMB demanded by the Liu family had no basis and they had to follow the relevant regulations from the Supreme Court.

"They offered our family of four a total of 15,000 RMB.  This is completely unacceptable to us.  Medical expenses are minor issues, but how can we assess the psychological damage done to us?  The two daughters have dropped out of school.  How will they face the world in future?"  Liu Shihua said.

Liu Shihua recently filed a complaint at the Wuhua district People's Procuratorate and asked for an investigation of the case.  They wanted a written apology as well as economic compensation for their losses.

(Southern Weekend)  June 6, 2009.

At around 5pm on June 2, the Kunmng police called its first press conference on this case.  In order to ensure that this case is investigated in a fair and objective manner the Kunming public security bureau has assembled an investigation team.  The relevant director of the police station, the captain of the crime investigation squad and the militia police officers involved in the case have been suspended from their duties in the meantime.

On the evening of June 5, the Kunming city public security bureau spokesperson said through a news bulletin that there had been problems about simplistic law enforcement and violence in the case of the "elementary school student prostitutes."  The public security bureau will form a team to conduct a full investigation in a fair and objective manner.

The Kunming city public security bureau spokesperson said that the principals had complained that militia police officers had tortured them to extract confessions. 

(Chengdu Commercial Press)  June 7, 2009.

The following is the transcript of the audio recording of the negotiations between the Wuhua district public security bureau and the principals.

Police: If you are asking for compensation, you should have the original proof such as hospital bills and such.
Liu:  We have them.  They said that our two girls are "prostitutes."  My girls are 13 and 14 years old.  How do they prostitute themselves?  To whom?  Ask the Wangjiaqiao police to present them?

Police: We have read your materials.  The last time, you demanded more than 160,000 RMB.  This time, we calculated that you are asking for more than 210,000 RMB.
Liu: Yes.  All four members of our family were injured.  This sum is for all four persons, not just me.

Police: I think that this compensation sum is an astronomical figure.  If you don't like it, you can sue in court.  We will pay what the compensation is!  Of course, the court won't compensate you that much, because you don't have invoices.
Liu: Even if we make a concession, it will be the 160,000 RMB or so that we put in the last time.  We won't accept anything less.  Our girls cannot attend class now.  They cannot go to school.  All the teachers and students know.  They are laughing at our girls.  This case has given them so much mental stress ...

Police: Let us not talk about those things.  We want to sit down here today to solve the problem.  Apart from defamation and mental agony, we will pay for the medical expenses, earning losses and subsidies.  I have calculated that the four of you should receive 15,000 RMB.  If you are willing to accept that, we will pay you this sum.
Liu: I don't agree with the amount.  Our family of four have been seriously mistreated by the police.

Police: If you are willing, we can also consider you an extra 2,000 RMB because of defamation and mental agony.
Liu: I don't agree with that.  At the time, I told the police that we did not do anything wrong but they refused to believe me.

Police: You must have some basis for asking 50,000 RMB, 100,000 RMB or 1,000,000 RMB.  It cannot be just on your say-so!  I am not the one who is giving you the money.  The money comes from the unit! 
Liu: I don't care.  This is what my lawyer has calculated.  How much are you willing to pay?

Police: Since it has happened already, we will pay whatever is reasonable and legal.  Please do not ask for too much.  It saves you from running back and forth, because that is bad for you.  But we cannot give you whatever you ask for!  It is a long process to go through the courts.  Since we are here, we can just settle it right now.   Please do not ask for a large sum as if you are selling cabbage that can be bargained.  We are a proper unit.  If you don't have the bills, we cannot possibly give you 200,000 RMB.
Liu: I don't care what you say.  We won't accept anything less than 160,000 RMB.

Police: Nothing less than 160,000 RMB?
Liu: Nothing less.

Police Not even one cent less?
Liu: Not less.

(Chendu Commercial Press)  June 7, 2009.

At past 2pm on June 5, the reporter was interviewing Liu Shihua at home.  A telephone came for Liu Shihua and he told the reporter that the procuratorate is sending a car to pick up the victims and therefore the interview had to be terminated.

At past 8pm that evening, Liu Shihua's wife and the elder daughter returned and said that they had an argument with a female worker at the Procuratorate who wanted to have another medical test to see if the two girls are virgins.  The reporter has been unable to contact Liu Shihua since.

"Zhang Anfen, the wife of Liu Shihua, told me that on the evening of June 5 that they were threatened by workers at the Yunnan Province Procuratorate."  Liu Shihua's lawyer Liu Hongming said.

"I don't understand the motivation and legal basis why the Procuratorate wants to have the girls examined again for their virginity.  Can anyone tell me?"  Li Hongming said that he was perplexed because the Kunming City Public Security Bureau had previously stated at its press conference that the "prostitution" case of the Liu sisters was unfounded, and the whether the hymens of the Liu sisters were intact or not is not even the key evidence in overturning the case.

"The Procuratorate workers did not threaten the Liu family, and they did not force them to have the Liu sisters examined."  At 10pm last night, Yunnan Province Publicity Department deputy director Wu Hao told the reporter that the Procuratorate has entered the investigation in order to speed up the inquiry over whether the police used force to extort confessions in this case.  "Based upon our information, Liu Shihua and the relevant media are under suspicion for fabricating evidence."

Wu Hao said that the investigation team is looking into whether the two fractures on the rigs of the principal Pu Enfu were caused by the Wangjiaqiao police during his arrest.  Furthermore, Liu Shihua may have created false evidence about the virginity test for his two daughters.

How were the relevant media also involved in fabricating evidence?  Wu Hao said that when Liu Shihua brought "two girls" to be examined at the Kunming Legal Hospital, the relevant media were suspected of participating in fabricating false evidence.

"Everything that I said is based upon evidence.  The investigation team has interrogated the doctor at the Kunming Legal Hospital."  Wu Hao said that the police have located the "prostitute patron Mister Wang" in the case and Wang has confirmed that on the evening of March 16, the "elder sister" in the case had "propositioned" him or offered to provide prostitute service to him.

Previously, according to the Kunmming police, they had been dissatisfied with the front-running media for characterizing this as the case of the "virgin prostitutes."  Afterwards, Liu Shihua's family has emphasized repeated that the Liu sisters were "virgins" in order to prove that they were "wrongfully" assaulted by the police.

According to the Kunming Legal Hospital, the police went there on the afternoon of June 4th to make a detailed inquiry into the "virginity" examinations of the Liu sisters in March this year.  The hospital deputy director said that those were ordinary gynecological examinations.  "They were not legal medical examinations, and therefore cannot be used as evidence."

The doctor who examined the girls was Chen Yuhua.  According to her, on the afternoon of March 19, three parents brought two girls to the hospital for examination.  "The result was that one hymen was intact while the other hymen had an old break."  Chen Yuhua said that one of the parents demanded her to change the diagnosis of the other hymen as "intact" but she refused.

Previously, the Liu family had showed only one of the virginity tests which claimed intactness.  Zhang Anfen said that "the other report was misplaced."

According to Chen Yuhua, on June 1st, Liu Shihua and family brought the elder sister to the Kunming City Legal Hospital again for hymen examination.  The reason was that "the teacher and other students suspected that she had sexual intercourse with a male student and therefore a test was needed to clear her name."  Chen Yuhua said that photos had been taken when the Liu sisters came to have their examination on March 19.  Comparing against the photo of the "elder sister" on June 1, it was clear that the "elder sister" who came on June 1st was not the "elder sister" who came on March 19.  As to whether this girl was the other sister, Chen Yuhua could not "recall."

Related Link: New developments in the Kunming prostitution case    Joel Martinsen, Danwei