Corpses stolen to be dead men's wives

Straits Times ^

[DeaconBenjamin]

BEIJING - A syndicate has been caught stealing female corpses from graves and selling them to people in the north-western Shaanxi province who believe in getting 'wives' for dead bachelors or divorced men who died without remarrying.

Jingbian county residents believe that when such men died, their spirits would become lost. To prevent them from wandering in the wild, their kin would try to get them 'married' to some dead women so that they would settle down in the nether world.

Such a belief has led to widespread looting of female corpses by syndicates which made profits from selling the bodies, the Procurator Daily reported.

According to a syndicate busted in June, its five members would search cemeteries for suitable female corpses. After locating their targets, they would dig out the coffins to retrieve the bodies for sale.

The report did not mention what happened to the bodies after they were sold.

The younger the dead woman, the higher the price. But bodies of old women were also in demand as not many buyers were able to afford a 'young bride'.

The biggest sum the syndicate ever fetched for a body was 30,000 yuan (S$6,340) while the average going price was between 2,000 and 6,000 yuan.

As the demand was great, the syndicate normally dug out five bodies a night, which means at least 10,000 yuan in earnings. The women they sold ranged from 18 to 72 years of age.

[DeaconBenjamin]

That's what I call way too much disposable income.

[hinckley buzzard]

What a sophisticated and advanced civilization they have there in the Middle Kingdom. No wonder they feel superior to the rest of the world.

Sheesh. Why does the term "rice monkey" come to mind.

[buffyt]

They ARE living in the stone age!

[stands2reason]

Hilarious! At first I didn't understand quite what the headline meant, but after reading the story, it obviously means what it says. LOL!!!

[P7M13]

If you follow Kit Carson's definition of a good indian, these are good wives.

t

[Libertarianize the GOP]

.

[rdb3]

That's what I call way too much disposable income.

You got that right!

What part of AR do you live?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Geez - even in death some women get no respect....... cheaper for an OLDER BRIDE? LOL

[gcruse]

More news you can use.

[Cachelot]

I'm sure there's 72 virgins in here somewhere...

[P7M13]

You'd think you'd have to pay for more for the experience. I guess death imitates life, younger women cost more.

t

[DeaconBenjamin]

Between Hope and Delight.

[Young Werther]

I sense a screenplay. Hows 'bout, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dumb!!!!"

[rdb3]

That's going towards Texarkana from east to west. Cool. My mother now lives in Forrest City.

[US admirer]

In the immortal words of Richard Jenny, I have only one word to say about this: "What the f---?????"

[foolscap]

Well this gives hope to all us single gals worried about the dating scene in the after life.

[martin_fierro]

Filing this story under "WTF?".

[P7M13]

I signed on until death do us part, then I am out of here.

t

[parsifal]

So why don't you boys come to the Arkansas freeper meeting in a few weeks? We don't bite.

But, back to the thread: I guess this story gives new meaning to the old question "Where did you dig her up?" parsy.

[boris]

"The ideal marriage is between a deaf man and a blind woman."