In the latest twist in an already confusing plotline, the 16-year-old girl at the center of the so-called 'virgin prostitute' case is now claiming that Kunming police coerced her into confessing to being involved in an alleged prostitution scheme.

Chen Yan, who police say was forced into prostitution by her father Liu Shihua, told China Daily that she only confessed to being a prostitute to obtain leniency from police:


Chen's case gained local and national media attention after her father Liu claimed that she had been arrested for prostitution by the Kunming police after a March altercation with law enforcement officers involving her father, her father's girlfriend Zhang Anfen and her father's friend Pu Enfu.

Liu produced what he claimed was medical documentation from a Kunming hospital proving that Chen was a virgin, after which police launched a new investigation into the case.

In June, Kunming police claimed to have solved the case, saying that the medical documents were faked and that Liu and Pu had confessed to forcing Chen into prostitution in October of last year. Liu is still under police custody.

In a Tuesday press conference, Kunming police said that no confessions had been forced out of anyone involved in the case. A police spokesperson also struck out at media for running "biased" reports of the case.

Chen told China Daily that she had been entertaining a man at home on the night in question, but that he was a friend, not a client. However, Chen reportedly could not remember the man's name.

Lawyers for Liu and Chen told China daily that Chen had slept with "some guys" but was not charging money for sex. They added that Chen had "beaten the girl many times to warn her not to have sex or develop any relationship with riffraff on the streets".

After a recent investigation, the so-called "virgin prostitute" case, known in Chinese as "the March 16 incident", was discovered to be a plan by Liu Shihua to mislead the media and public, according to local media reports.

Kunming police told local media that in October of last year, Liu Shihua (刘仕华) and Zhang Anfen (张安芬) - the mother of Liu's three daughters - conspired to pimp out one of their daughters, who operated under the alias of "Chen Yan". Chen Yan was to use a room rented by Liu as her base of illicit operations.

At 9 pm on March 16, Chen was reportedly bringing a client surnamed Wang to her room, the two were discovered by low-ranking patrol officers from the Wangjiaqiao police station who did not have the independent authority to make searches or arrests. The officers called police to examine the premises.

According to police, Liu Shihua saw from inside the rented room that officers were near and he discussed what to do with his friend Pu Enfu (普恩富), who was also present. Liu and Pu reportedly made Chen Yan and her older sister change clothes so that police would arrest the wrong girl.

When officers approached the rented room, Zhang Anfen charged out and hit one officer in the left eye. Liu and Pu emerged wielding a knife and a club, respectively. After a struggle between the two sides, Zhang, Liu and Pu were all brought under control and their weapons seized. After the altercation, Pu claimed that two of his ribs were broken by police while they were questioning him.

Liu, Zhang, Pu and two of Liu and Zhang's daughters and another family friend spent the night in jail and were released the next morning, according to police.

On March 20, Liu and Zhang reportedly went to the Kunming Public Security Bureau's Wuhua branch office to demand 200,000 yuan in compensation from the police. When their attempt failed, police say Liu and Zhang obtained fake hospital documents claiming their daughters were virgins, which they released to local media.

Although the police maintain that their officers did not abuse Pu or any of the others, two officers were punished and two were fired as a result of improper handling of the arrest.

A police spokesperson said that both Liu and Pu have reportedly spent time in prison for robbery.

When presented with evidence that Pu had faked injury and that Liu's hospital documents were faked, Liu and company confessed to faking both the injury and the documents, the police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson emphasized that Kunming police do not extract confessions by torturing suspects. Liu Shihua is once again under arrest and Zhang Anfen is out on bail.

The Kunming Public Security Bureau announced yesterday that an investigation team has been assembled to look into the wrongful arrests of two young girls for prostitution in March. The investigation was announced after increasing criticism of the police on the internet, much of it suggesting that the police fabricated the charges against the girls.

The two girls, Liu Fangfang, 15, and Liu Lili, 13, were arrested in front of their home in Kunming at 8:00 pm on March 16, along with their parents and two male friends. All were released the following afternoon after the Kunming Forensics Hospital examined the Liu sisters and determined that they were both virgins.

According to the Liu family's lawyer Xu Xinghua, shortly before the girls' arrest for prostitution, their parents had experienced a dispute with some local residents while working at the public toilet that they manage in the Wangjiaqiao area of the Wuhua District.

When police from the Wangjiaqiao police station were dispatched to the scene of the dispute, the Lius and the police reportedly experienced "friction", which the Lius believe offended the police station.

Afterward, police claim that a foot officer and two officers in training were propositioned by Liu Fangfang, who reportedly asked "Do you want to play?" ("要不要耍一下?"). While waiting for police from the Wangjiaqiao police station with the authority to arrest to arrive, the officer and cadets allegedly saw a man in his 30s enter an apartment with Liu.

Minutes later, police say the man left the apartment with Liu, when the foot officer identified himself and told the man to stay. According to police reports, another man emerged from the room and attacked the officer, starting a fracas in which several were injured and the Liu sisters were eventually arrested for prostitution in front of a large crowd.

Police told Kunming media that the violence against officers of the law was wrong, but also conceded that the girls were released the next day because of a lack of evidence that they were involved in illegal activities.

Liu Shihua, the girls' father, said "I suspect we're being persecuted by the police station."

Today, somewhat unexpectedly considering the date, the China Daily published an English-language commentary on the Liu sisters' "virgin prostitution", reprinting translated portions of a Chongqing Times article that takes a harsh line against the police. Here are some exerpts:


Liu sisters image: news.ifeng.com