Womenwhounknowinglymarriedgaymenareaccusinganonlinewebsite-meanttohelppeopleintheirsituation-ofdefraudingitsmembersof90,000yuan($14,000).
Thecasehasbeenreportedtothepolice,accordingtotheSouthernMetropolisDailyonWednesday.
Thewebsite,Tongqijiayuan,whichliterallymeanshomelandofgays'wives,wasestablishedinJuly2011byYaoLifen,awomaninShaanxiprovincewhohaddivorcedhergayhusband.
OnJune12,astatementaimedat"disclosingfraudatthehomeofgaymen'swives"waspublishedonablogandaccusedYaoandhernewboyfriend,AnYao,ofcommittingfraud.
ItsaidthatYaoandAnchargedwiveswhohadaskedtojointheironlinechatgrouparoughly1,000yuandepositeachandchargedeveryvolunteerwhowantedtojoinedthegroupfora2,000yuandeposit.
Thestatementalsosaidthewebsitewouldhelpwivesascertaintheirhusband'ssexualorientationsandobtaindivorces.
"Theychargedfrom3,000to6,500yuanfortheservice...theychargedtensofthousandsofyuanatthemost...buttheservicedidn'tgiveyouanypracticalhelp,"thestatementsaid."Theydraggedtheirfeetwhenwivesaskedthemtoreturnthemoney...andthreatenedtoexposethesewomenasbeingthewivesofgaymen."
ThestatementalsoaccusedYaoandAnofaskingthewebsite'sregistereduserstogivemoneytothewebsite,whichwasstrugglingwithfinancialdifficultiesbuttheyneverdisclosedhowtheyusedthemoneytheyhadcollected.
Peoplewhowantedtojointheonlinechatgroupwererequiredtofilloutaform,whichwasthenusedinaresearchprojectledbyZhangBeichuan,aprofessoratQingdaoUniversity,alsoanexpertonHIV/AIDSandadvocatinggaymen'srights,thestatementsaid.
ThewebsitewasoutofserviceonWednesday.
Yaopledgedtorectifythesituation.
"NowIcanonlytrymybesttofindoutinprivatewhatthetruthisandgiveyouallanexplanationassoonaspossible,"shesaid.
ChinaDailytriedtotalktoYaobutshedidnotanswerphonecalls.Inatextmessage,shewrotethatshewassaddenedthatthemediahadconductedanexposeofherworkplaceandthatthepublicityhadgreatlyaffectedherlifeandwork.
ZhangBeichuansaidthematterisverycomplicatedandthathefeelssorryforYao.
"She'smadeagreatefforttosetupandmaintainthewebsite,whichdidhelpgaymen'swivestalktooneanother,shareinformationandobtainmentalcounselingservices,"ZhangsaidoverthephoneonWednesday.
"AndasfarasIknow,itwasYaoherselfwhoreportedthecasetothelocalpoliceandwhowasmerelybeingdeceivedbyherboyfriend,"Zhangsaid.
Thewebsiteisreportedtohaveabout3,800registeredmembers.
"Thesheernumberofmembersshowsthatsuchavulnerablegrouphadrelativelyfewresourcesandchannelsthattheycouldusetoconnecttoandhelponeanother,"Zhangsaid.
Inrecentyears,thegovernmentandpublichavepaidmuchmoreattentiontothegaypopulationandprovidedmoresupporttoit.Butlittlehasbeendoneforthewivesofgaymen,hesaid.
Amongthegaypopulation,"manysaytheyarefeelingpressuredbytheburgeoningadvocacythatistakingplacefortherightsofgaymen'swives,"hesaid.
Heestimatedthat16millionwomenaremarriedtogaymeninthecountry.
"AmidthetraditionalfamilyvaluesthatholdswayinChina,about90percentofhomosexualmenchoosetogetmarried,"hesaid.
Contactthewritersatwangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cnandshanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn