Telefraud suspects arrested in 3 cases

Twenty-eight suspects have been arrested for involvement in recent telephone fraud cases that led to the deaths of three students, the Ministry of Security announced on Friday.

In Guangdong province, 19-year-old would-be freshman Cai Shuyan was defrauded of 9,800 ($1,470) yuan in a telephone scam in July, money that was supposed to pay for her tuition fees.

She then left home on Aug 28 after leaving a message, saying she was too ashamed to see her mother again after she was defrauded of money almost equal to the annual income of her mother, a farmer in a poor remote village.

Six suspects were arrested in Hainan province.

Meanwhile, Xu Yuyu, also a freshman-to-be and Song Zhenning, a college student, both in Shandong province, died of heart attacks after they were defrauded in August. Xu and Song were defrauded of 9,900 yuan and 1,996 yuan, respectively.

Eight suspects in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces were arrested in Xu's case while 14 people were arrested in Song's case.

The Ministry of Public Security organized the police force in seven provinces to investigate the cases after these high-profile tragedies.