Chinese Billionaire Gets 5 Years in Prison for Sexually Assaulting 9-Year-Old

June 19, 2020

A real estate billionaire in China was sentenced to only five years in prison for molesting a 9-year-old girl in his hotel room.

The details: Chinese tycoon Wang Zhenhua was arrested and detained a year ago for the sexual assault that resulted in the girl suffering from vaginal lacerations.

The crime happened inside a five-star hotel room in Shanghai on June 29, 2019, reports the New York Times.
Zhou Yanfen, a supposed friend of the survivor’s mother, brought the young girl and her older sister to Wang’s hotel room.
Zhou had promised the girls’ mom that she was bringing the girls to Shanghai Disneyland.
It was later revealed that Wang paid Zhou 10,000 yuan (about $1,400) to bring the children to him.
The mother learned what happened after her daughter came back and told her about the abuse.
She immediately called the police and both Wang and Zhou were arrested.
Upon his arrest, Zhenhua was removed from his post as chairman of Seazen Holdings, one of the biggest real estate developers in China.
Zhenhua, who remains as the company’s majority shareholder, was replaced with his son.
The Zhenhua family wealth is estimated to be around $6 billion.

The trial: Wang was tried for “molestation” as the investigation found “no sexual organ contact” and therefore the crime could not be classified as rape.

The billionaire denied molesting the girl during the two-day closed hearing at a Putuo district court in Shanghai.
Wang was sentenced to five years in prison, which under Chinese law, is the maximum sentence for molestation.
Zhou was given a four-year prison sentence for bringing the girls to Wang’s hotel.
The verdict for the high-profile case sparked outrage on Chinese social media, reports Shanghaiist.
“Vaginal lacerations are sexual, how could this not be rape?” a Weibo user wrote. “Five years is too light, this crime is truly frightening.”
“The laws are made for the poor. The rich are above the law,” another user was quoted as saying.

Feature Image (left) via Seazen Holdings, (right) via SCMP/Toutiao

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