A teenage girl is putting her virginity up for sale in Hangzhou
A teenage girl, 19, is putting her virginity up for sale in Hangzhou, China
She is trying to sell her body to raise funds for her brother's medical costs
Brother, 23, was diagnosed with leukaemia, his condition deteriorating
He behaviour has sparked controversy among web users and media
A high-school student has tried to sell her virginity in an attempt to earn enough money to fund her brother's cancer treatment, according to Chinese media.
The 19-year-old woman, named Xu Yanhua, was spotted on Monday on a subway train in Hangzhou, where she was selling her body for 200,000 yuan (£23,405).
Xu held a signboard which said: 'The treatment will cost more than 200,000 yuan. My family can't afford it. Which kind-hearted person can save my brother?'
According to a report on 163.com, Xu even claimed to have a hospital-issued certificate proving she was in fact a virgin.
Xu explained she was selling herself in a last-ditch attempt to make enough money to fund her brother's expensive medical bills.
In her signboard, Xu said that she came from Qiubei County in Yunnan Province and was a high-school student.
Xu said her brother, 23, was diagnosed with leukaemia three years ago and her family was too poor to afford the treatment he needed to survive.
The young woman said her family had spent all their savings on a bone marrow transplant, but her sibling had experienced a negative reaction to operation.
With her brother's body deteriorating, the young woman said it was her final plea for help.
At the bottom of her signboard, Xu left her contact details, including her phone number and a social media screen name.
A reporter from 163.com visited Xu's brother at his hospital ward in Zhejiang People's Hospital.
The 23-year-old's fingernails were allegedly falling off, he could no longer shed tears and he had succumbed to a variety of other diseases in his poor health.
When he was met by his sister and the reporter at the hospital, the man said he was in the dark about his sister's attempt to sell her virginity.
'Now I know how foolish she is,' he told the reporter.
He said he was crippled by the burden he put on his family and just wanted his sister to return back home and continue her studies.
While the 19-year-old Xu Yanhua's advertisement garnered interest from commuters on the train, it also caught the attention of authorities.
Police officers took the woman back to the local police station where she explained her motives for selling her virginity, reported 163.com.
While they acknowledged her good intentions, officers explained what she was attempting to do was illegal.
Besides the authority, Xu's action has also caught her friends in surprise.
Her roommate, Ji Jiayan, said Xu was a 'simple and kind-hearted girl'.
Ji, who also had leukaemia, said Xu had tried to solve the problem in a 'very innocent way', according to a report on Hangzhou.com.
Ji said Xu had tried to search on Google for the best way to save her brother and later came across the idea of selling her virginity.
Fang Yangfan, a commentator on current affairs, told Hangzhou.com that Xu's behaviour had not set a good example to the society.
Fang told Hangzhou.com: 'If the help seekers only want to grab attention from the public, it will cause our charity industry to be vulgar and overly sensationalised, and this will prevent the existing rescue system from developing.'
In China, a woman's virginity is highly treasured.
As a result, more than 73,000 people have commented on Xu's fund-raising method on 163.com.
Many people expressed sympathy towards the woman, including one commentator who asked: 'If she didn't do that, who would care about her?'
Another person put the blame on China's social system: 'There are so many families in similar situations. The real cause is the flawed medical and social allowance system. '
Some people wondered if there are better alternatives.
One said: 'If I were your brother, knowing what you have done, I would live in pain for the rest of my life even if I recovered.'
Another person appeared to be disappointed: 'Attention-seeking behaviours like selling virginity are very indecent. Many people are also in difficult situation. Why can't she think of other means?'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3940546/Teenager-tries-sell-virginity-fund-brothers-cancer-treatment-Hangzhou-China.html
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