A SHENZHEN woman had to have an abortion at five months pregnant because the father of the innocent fetus was a swindler who had scammed at least six young women, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

The woman, surnamed Zhang, reported to Nanhu Police Station in Luohu District that she had been swindled by a man named Chen Yongjin in May. Zhang said that Chen lived at luxury hotels and claimed he came from a wealthy family in Hong Kong.

The man allegedly met Zhang last May and had been dating the woman ever since. In order to gain Zhang and her family’s trust, the man introduced Zhang to his father and promised to buy an apartment at a pricey housing estate in Nanshan District.

However, according to Zhang, the man borrowed nearly 180,000 yuan (US$26,478) from her using the excuses of decorating the new home and applying for a driver’s license for a friend.

The man’s behavior evoked suspicion from Zhang and her family. To further prove his wealthy background, the man showed a suitcase filled with 1 million yuan cash while Zhang was pregnant.

The woman was touched by the man’s “sincerity” but soon discovered that he was intimately walking with another young woman the next day. Accompanied by her family, Zhang underwent the abortion.

A later police investigation found that the man’s real surname was Ban and he had been imprisoned for three years in 2013 for swindling. While dating Zhang, Ban lied about his identity and rented luxury cars to cheat the woman and her family. The banknotes in the suitcase were in fact made from banknote-looking paper.

Police had been tracking Ban for eight days and eventually busted the suspect in the early morning of May 26 at a hotel in Futian District.

Interrogation revealed that Ban had been using fake identities, forged diamonds and rental luxury cars to swindle at least six young women.

(Zhang Qian)