Chinese Murder For Body Scheme broken up...

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2008-09-05 11:53pm

Link

Arrests in Chinese cash-for-corpse murder probe
Reuters | Tuesday, 02 September 2008

Chinese police have arrested members of a gang suspected of murdering more than 100 disabled or elderly people and selling their corpses in a bizarre scheme to avoid cremations, a newspaper said.

Burials have traditionally been seen as the most respectful way to handle the dead in China, but were discouraged after the Communists came to power in 1949 to conserve farmland and eradicate superstition.

The bodies were bought by wealthy families and sent for cremation in lieu of deceased relatives who were then secretly buried, the South China Morning Post reported.

The killers would trail their victims, usually mentally disabled or elderly people, "drag them into vehicles in remote areas and either strangle or poison them", the newspaper said.

An unnamed police officer from Puning, in southern Guangdong province, said about seven suspects were arrested three weeks ago when police discovered the gang while investigating a homicide, the Post said.

Corpses would sell for 10,000 yuan (NZ$2132.77) each, it said, without specifying the charges against those being held.

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This thing is just so bizarre and crazy, that I think it's noteworthy enough to post in n&P....

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2008-09-06 04:30am

Am I the only one sure before entering this thread that this would be about organ thieves?

The bodies were bought by wealthy families and sent for cremation in lieu of deceased relatives who were then secretly buried, the South China Morning Post reported.

The families can't have known about this (the source), right?
Wouldn't it be easier to steal corpses from the morgues and to fake the records?

Is there really a demand to send bodies in of deceased relatives? What happens if you don't have a body or missreport, they'll kill you anyway?

SAMAS · Post by **SAMAS** » 2008-09-06 05:01pm

DEATH wrote:Am I the only one sure before entering this thread that this would be about organ thieves?

The bodies were bought by wealthy families and sent for cremation in lieu of deceased relatives who were then secretly buried, the South China Morning Post reported.
The families can't have known about this (the source), right?
Wouldn't it be easier to steal corpses from the morgues and to fake the records?

Either the families were told they were... I don't wanna say "legally obtained", but maybe "legally made" (like stolen from the morgue or simply unclaimed), or they just didn't ask/care.