Society

Immortal blessings? Mind your money!

By Guan Xiaomeng (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-01-10 18:58

Is there any superhuman power in the world that can help us to avoid evil? Maybe yes, but it does not exist in so-called "immortals" wandering the streets.

The local police arrested 53 "immortals" suspected of fraud in more than 120 cases on Saturday in Dongguan of South China's Guangdong province. More than 400 others were also taken into custody for their role in the crimes， Dongguan Times reported.

According to the police, the 53 suspects wandered around markets and other public areas in small groups and targeted middle-aged or elderly women.

They claimed they had superhuman powers and convinced the victims that they had incurable diseases or would be the recipient of evil behavior and offered to help them – after being paid. One of the victims was tricked into spending 320,000 yuan ($48,245) in March 2010 on "avoiding evilness".

Some of the swindlers even carried a swaddled baby and pretended to be poverty-stricken to wangle sympathy.