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Corpses stolen to be dead men's wives
Straits Times ^
Posted on 08/03/2002 5:37:01 PM PDT by 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.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: chinastuff
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That's what I call way too much disposable income.
To: DeaconBenjamin
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.
To: DeaconBenjamin
They ARE living in the stone age!
3
posted on
08/03/2002 5:50:28 PM PDT
by
buffyt
To: DeaconBenjamin
Hilarious! At first I didn't understand quite what the headline meant, but after reading the story, it obviously means what it says. LOL!!!
To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
If you follow Kit Carson's definition of a good indian, these are good wives.
t
5
posted on
08/03/2002 5:58:15 PM PDT
by
P7M13
To: *China stuff
.
To: DeaconBenjamin
That's what I call way too much disposable income.
You got that right!
What part of AR do you live?
7
posted on
08/03/2002 6:10:25 PM PDT
by
rdb3
To: P7M13
Geez - even in death some women get no respect....... cheaper for an OLDER BRIDE? LOL
To: DeaconBenjamin
More news you can use.
9
posted on
08/03/2002 6:31:55 PM PDT
by
gcruse
To: DeaconBenjamin
I'm sure there's 72 virgins in here somewhere...
10
posted on
08/03/2002 6:32:32 PM PDT
by
Cachelot
To: WhyisaTexasgirlinPA
You'd think you'd have to pay for more for the experience. I guess death imitates life, younger women cost more.
t
11
posted on
08/03/2002 6:33:28 PM PDT
by
P7M13
To: rdb3
Between Hope and Delight.
To: DeaconBenjamin
I sense a screenplay. Hows 'bout, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dumb!!!!"
To: DeaconBenjamin
That's going towards Texarkana from east to west. Cool. My mother now lives in Forrest City.
14
posted on
08/03/2002 6:37:36 PM PDT
by
rdb3
To: DeaconBenjamin
In the immortal words of Richard Jenny, I have only one word to say about this: "What the f---?????"
To: P7M13
Well this gives hope to all us single gals worried about the dating scene in the after life.
16
posted on
08/03/2002 6:49:52 PM PDT
by
foolscap
To: DeaconBenjamin
Filing this story under "WTF?".
To: foolscap
I signed on until death do us part, then I am out of here.
t
18
posted on
08/03/2002 7:10:05 PM PDT
by
P7M13
To: rdb3
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.
19
posted on
08/03/2002 7:17:57 PM PDT
by
parsifal
To: DeaconBenjamin
"The ideal marriage is between a deaf man and a blind woman."
20
posted on
08/03/2002 7:47:15 PM PDT
by
boris
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