China Scene: Central

Boasts of affluence cause abduction and ransom

A villager surnamed Wang of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, paid dearly recently for presenting himself online as a man of wealth and property.

Wang, 22, comes from a poor local family. But he flaunted an imaginary fortune to his net friends, telling them his family owns several companies and that he had property worth 10 million ($1.46 million) yuan.