Charges over sex extortion

By Angela Xu  |   2008-12-10  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A 37-YEAR-OLD woman has been charged with extortion by Changning District prosecutors for allegedly using indecent photos to blackmail her boss.

Zhang Xiaolu, a Hubei Province native, said she just wanted to threaten her boss so that he would give her a stable job. Zhang said the boss gave her money voluntarily.

In addition to asking for a long-term contract from her boss, Zhang also took 16,000 yuan (US$2,328) worth of cash and valuables from the victim, prosecutors said.

Zhang came to Shanghai to find work 21 years ago. She married a local man when she was 29. In July she took a part-time job in a film production company.

A colleague, Feng Wenwen, lost her job and allegedly told Zhang that she was fired after refusing to have sex with the boss of the firm, Zhou Tianxiang, 63.

Zhang said she was worried that she too would lose her job for refusing to sleep with Zhou, and so she arranged a scheme to get indecent pictures of her boss.

On July 11, Zhang called Zhou and said she had persuaded Feng to have sex with him. Zhou took both women out to dinner and then to his home.

Feng said she was a virgin and said Zhang and Zhou should demonstrate what to do in bed. Zhou agreed and when Zhang and Zhou were naked Feng took pictures of them with a mobile phone, according to prosecutors.

Zhang later showed the pictures to Zhou. She allegedly took a laptop from Zhou's office and asked him to give her a digital camera and a digital video camera. Zhou agreed but Zhang then told him her husband had divorced her after seeing the pictures and allegedly asked Zhou to give her a long-term contract and 10,000 yuan.

Zhou gave her the money but Zhang allegedly continued to threaten him and Zhou went to the police.

Feng allegedly told prosecutors that Zhang had said she wanted to use the photos to extort money from Zhou.