3 men charged with robbing sex worker of 100,000 yuan

Three men have been charged with robbing a sex worker out of more than 100,000 yuan (US$14,936) in Shanghai's Minhang District, prosecutors said on Monday.

According to the Minhang District People's Procuratorate, Huang was a weishang, or online micro business owner, who promotes products on social media like WeChat. However, she found that she wasn't able to earn enough income. One day, she noticed some prostitution information on WeChat and found it a profitable alternative.

Unbeknown to her boyfriend, sometimes she posted prostitution information on her WeChat and served as a sex worker.

On October 5, a client contacted Huang and made a deal with her at a price of 1,300 yuan. She invited the client to her home at 10pm. But when she opened the door, a man attacked her, covering her mouth with his hand. With the assistance of another man, tape and rope was used to cover her mouth and bind her hands. They threatened Huang with a knife held against her throat.

After taking 2,000 yuan in cash and bank cards, the pair used Huang's fingerprint to unlock her two cellphones. They also forced her to tell them her bank account passwords. They then bound Huang's feet and reinforced the binding on her hands and mouth before leaving.

Huang was later able to unfasten the tape and rope and found the men had taken 62,000 yuan from her Alipay account as well as 45,000 yuan from her bank accounts. 

The two men, and the accomplice who helped them to connect with Huang, were soon traced by local police and confessed to the robbery.