China detained journalist who exposed sex slaves in basement

The journalist who exposed the shocking story of six sex slaves kept in a Lyoyang basement in China's Henan Province, was detained by police. Authorities did not want the story, which included two murders, tarnishing the towns image.

When journalist Ji Xuguang penned the account of a Chinese man holding sex slaves in his basement, he knew he had a shocking story on his hands. In the seedy world of Chinese porn and prostitution the actions of Li Hao were truly despicable. The BBC reported over the course of two years he kidnapped women working in nightclubs and karaoke parlours, and imprisoned them in a dungeon he dug in the basement of a rental property, away from the home he shared with his wife and son. The women, aged between 16 and 24, were repeatedly raped by Hao who deliberately kept them weak by only feeding them every other day. The women were tortured and forced to perform for porn shows which Hao uploaded onto the Internet for money. He forced them to prostitute themselves to other men, and on one such occasion one of the slaves escaped and went to the police. It was then discovered that two of the women had been murdered and their bodies were buried in the basement. Ji Xuguang’s account of the crimes was published in the independent Southern Metropolis Daily. According to the New York Times the Chinese media were “mesmerized” by the case, but the authorities were less than enamoured of the details reaching the public. Police detained Ji, accusing him of revealing state secrets. He was later released and wrote

“I was only thinking about how to make my story as accurate as possible and to satisfy the public’s right to know, but I soon discovered that I failed to address the most important issue — face.” He added “Before the truth becomes a state secret, the public and myself need answers.”

He has since discovered that authorities did not want the story to come to public attention as Lyoyang is competing to become a “Civilized City.” In addition to the exposure of state secrets, the public revelation of the heinous crimes allegedly committed by Hao has exposed failures in the public security bureau which is sited within two streets of the basement dungeon. According to Xinhaunet, Lyoyang’s Police Chief, Guo Congbin, made a public apology for failing to detect the basement where the rapes and murders were occurring. Guo said

“As the police chief, I bear the responsibility… I beg the people of Luoyang to give us another chance. We will show you the results of our actions.”

He pledged to conduct a speedy investigation and overhaul the towns’ seediest establishments whilst clamping down on Internet porn sites. Although Ji has been released from custody the four remaining women held as sex slaves have been detained over their possible involvement in the deaths of the two dead women.