Report: Loan sharks demand nude photos

A growing number of Chinese university students are being targeted by loan sharks who demand nude photographs as collateral, according to a report in Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily.

"The nude photos will be made public if the borrowers fail to repay their debts with interest," an insider was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Some students who failed to repay their debts in time have sought police help, accompanied by their parents, after being threatened with sexual violence or having their nude photos published online, the newspaper said.

One female university student, who was referred to as Li Li to protect her identity, said the loan sharks asked students to provide photocopies of their identity cards, student cards and family data, plus their nude photos, before they were granted a loan.

"Many students have borrowed money from loan sharks and left their nude photos with the lenders," Li told local media.

"The interest rate usually reaches more than 30 percent a year, and a student can borrow from several hundred yuan to many thousand yuan, depending on the materials and data they offer."

Li borrowed money from a loan shark group to start a business in February and said she had since been threatened that her nude photos will be published if she failed to pay.

Zhang Xinnian, a lawyer from Beijing, said publishing other people's nude photographs was a serious infringement of their personal privacy.

Local police did not comment on the cases on Tuesday.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn