Sanxiang Metropolis Daily reported Aug. 18 on a harrowing case of cross-border abduction. A 17-year-old girl surnamed Zhou convinced her live-in boyfriend, Huang, 19, of Guangdong, to take a long-term work assignment in Myanmar, where she claimed that her family was running a successful business. In February 2025, Zhou traveled with Huang to Thailand, where he was forcibly taken to Myanmar by armed individuals to work at the Kaixuan telecom fraud center. Kaixuan paid Zhou 100,000 yuan ($14,000) for her service. During four months of captivity, Huang was repeatedly beaten for failing to meet scamming targets, leaving him with hearing loss and severe physical suffering. In June 2025, Huang’s family finally secured his release by paying a ransom of 350,000 yuan ($48,900) through the Chaozhou-Shantou Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar.
Xie Bohong, a lawyer at Hunan Jinzhou Law Firm, told Sanxiang Metropolis Daily that although Zhou’s actions essentially constituted cross-border human trafficking, the relevant Art. 240 of China’s Criminal Law on abduction and trafficking applies only to women and children, not adult men. This legal loophole means Zhou cannot be indicted for trafficking – only for fraud.
The news quickly sparked a heated public debate and was reposted by 180 media outlets, attracting over 40,000 comments. Many netizens voiced concern that Zhou would get off too lightly if prosecuted for fraud, a much less serious crime than trafficking, which could encourage others to follow her example. The public is calling on the government to revise Art. 240, replacing it with the crime of “human trafficking” to cover victims of all genders and ages.