Catching cicadas for food brings small fortune

The training sessions on a cell phone. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

Parents defrauded of 100,000 yuan for children to gain "superpowers"

Imagine if you had a superpower – it's a common fantasy for adults and children alike. So, when parents were offered the chance to give their kids a secretive training course to gain such powers, many did not hesitate to pay big bucks.

"(Immediately after one training session,) your kid, when blindfolded, would be able to read the number or color on cards by a mere touch. After more sessions, your kids would be able to recite an entire book by turning the pages only once," Chen Ping (alias) in Chengdu of southwest China's Sichuan province quoted the claims of a local training company, Chengdu Huiju Corporate Management and Consultation Co Ltd, which defrauded parents of large sums of cash to train their kids in such superhuman skills.

The company said students would get a lifelong course and promised a refund if they could not learn the skills, Chen was quoted as saying by West China Metropolis Daily.

Chen paid 98,000 yuan for her niece Dou Dou (alias) to attend such magical sessions in June 2013. But after more than one year and after completing the first two of three phases of training, Dou Dou has not developed any special skills except for trying to read the words by peeping through the gap beneath the cloth covering her eyes.

What was taught at the training sessions was shrouded in secrecy and parents were never allowed to accompany children during training, Chen said.

Another parent who only gave his surname Chen, not related to Chen Ping, confirmed Chen Ping's accusations. He said parents only knew when and where to receive the training one day before a session via phone calls from the company. "They never told us what our children will learn, but emphasized the results."

Dou Dou trained almost every six months, from June 2013 to August 2014, according to Chen Ping. "After paying the tuition, all we could do is to wait for notices to attend the sessions. It was very mysterious."

Chen went to the company on Thursday to ask for a refund of more than 30,000 yuan for the third phase of training, but in vain.

An executive of the company told West China Metropolis Daily that the training sessions have been suspended since "most parents were not satisfied".

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