Nude photo loan scandal causes enormous controversy
A loan company named Jiedaibao is reported using nude photos from borrowers as collateral for them to repay their loan. If they don't repay the loan with interest, their nude photos will be made public.
The nude photos leaked on the Internet [Photo from Weibo]
But, recently, a largest batch of nude photos of female university students leaked out on the Internet. The file size is around 10 GB, in which contains nude pictures and videos. It went viral on social media and caused an enormous controversy.
The Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily reported in June that private lenders are asking female borrowers to send nude photos of themselves along with their ID cards, warning that the photos will be made public if payments are not made on time.
One of the borrowers told the newspaper that she first borrowed 500 yuan ($76) from an online loan provider with a weekly interest rate of 30 per cent. She kept taking out news loans to pay off old ones, and her debt snowballed to 55,000 yuan ($8,347) when the lender demanded a nude photo of her as a guarantee for new loans.
Female students pose nude photo with their ID
"They often ask female students to pose naked with their ID and use these photos as collateral in their practice. If a student defaults on the loan, the loaners will threaten to show the nude photos to her family and friends.
In exchange, the students who agree to send nude photos can have a higher loan amount, ranging from 2 to five times as much. However, the loan interest rate can be as high as 30 percent a week." described by China.org.cn.
The Jiedaibao Company quickly responsed to the scandal. A spokesman for Jiedaibao condemned the "naked loans" and said the company would work with the police on any investigation of such practices. "This kind of naked loan is actually taking advantage of the online platform to operate an illegal usurious offline business," they said.
However, the nude picture loan shows no sign of stopping. Despite that (feeble) condemnation, it has sparked outrage across the whole country and the abuse seems to have continued.
Wang Sixin, a law professor at the Communication University of China said that the lenders' actions have clearly violated the law, while the online peer-to-peer lending platforms should also take some amount of responsibility.
Some netizens accused that these female students are prostitutions. But some applaud Jiedaibao's idea of creating an Uber-like crowd of private debt collectors.
Now, the scandal is stilling simmering. According to China's Criminal Law, those who distribute lewd pictures can be imprisoned for to up to two years, and the punishment will be even more severe if such information is spread to juveniles.
By Keane