TCM ‘doctor’ held over US$1m investment con
Print Edition
A PRACTITIONER of traditional Chinese medicine has been detained for allegedly duping her patients out of 6 million yuan (US$977,000), the Qingpu District procuratorate said yesterday.
The woman, surnamed Deng, opened a TCM clinic in 2003 and soon became a popular figure in the community after regularly providing treatment free of charge to local disabled people.
Despite her magnanimity, the clinic was not a success and soon began losing money, the prosecutor said.
The situation worsened considerably in 2009 with the failure of a new product, and Deng turned to her patients for help.
In return for their loans — mostly of between 10,000 and 100,000 yuan — she promised up to 5 percent interest, which at the time was far better than the 3 percent offered by the banks.
Dozens of people handed over their pensions and life-savings.
One of Deng’s biggest benefactors was a man surnamed Shan, who agreed to lend her 1.3 million yuan last year.
“Deng said she had a minor business problem that she had to sort out and promised to pay me back in a few months,” Shan was quoted as saying.
“I never thought she would swindle me as she was well known for her good nature and kind heart,” he said.
But that impression quickly changed when Chan was unable to contact Deng at the end of last year.
When he went to her clinic, he found a group of others who’d also been duped.
Deng was traced and taken into custody. She later told police she had become swamped in debt and felt her only option was to flee.
She is being investigated in relation to accusations of illegal fund-raising.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
