Shenyang experiences sharp rise in sex-related murders
BEIJING, Sept. 18 Kyodo Murders of women engaged in the sex trade in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning Province in northeastern China, have risen sharply over the past four years, a local newspaper recently reported.
Some 90 women have been reported murdered since 1995, with the number increasing with each year, said the report in Sept. 11 issue of the Liaoning Ribao.
According to the daily, the increase in such crimes is due largely to robberies aimed at women taking up jobs in the sex and entertainment industries, against the backdrop of a worsening local economy.
The area has serious problems such as the rationalization of state-owned factories with resulting layoffs, bankruptcies, and unemployment, it said.
Many of these women earn money by working in karaoke bars or as prostitutes, receiving large amount of tips from customers, according to the paper. Their annual income can be 20 times that of the average worker, and they earned as much as 123,000 yuan (2 million yen) or more, the paper said.
Of the 90 murdered, 35 were victims of robberies. Among them three were taken to a country home and their bodies dissolved in a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids after they were killed.
Others were killed in sex crimes involving mutilation, or because of love or money troubles with customers, the report said.
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