Chinese charity under investigation over demand for sex for money from desperate mother of sick child

Zheng revealed that the 9958 Project, which is designed to help children with serious illnesses, is one of the most “resourceful” initiatives within the foundation.

Lei, who is now under investigation by authorities, was head of the central China project and responsible for Henan and Hubei provinces, The Paper reported.

It is unclear at this stage of the investigation whether there are any additional victims.

According to WeChat screenshots made available by Zheng, Lei regularly sent provocative messages to a mother, including: “I love you forever” and “I didn’t love the wrong woman.”

Another screenshot showed a mother responding, “I’m not a good person either, I’m just doing this for my child. Before you give me a check, we always go to a hotel. Is there anything in this world that isn’t dirty?”

Zheng received the screenshots in June through a private message on Weibo from an internet user.

She encouraged the party, who she reasonably believed was the victim, to report the incident to the police. It is unclear whether legal action was taken.

In 2020, Zheng reported on a similar case in which a woman, surnamed Liu, was allegedly forced to sleep with Lei.

However, police later concluded that the act was consensual and the case was dropped due to lack of evidence, Red Star News reported.

In January, another netizen, identified as Xiaohuangyayaya123123, publicly revealed how she had been “seduced” into sleeping with the head of a charity for a year after he told her that “the foundation has money.”

“In the end, I couldn’t save my child, but the price I paid was too high. I’m not physically attractive, but I did it for my child. Just one promise from ‘the foundation has money’ and I endured a year of exploitation,” the woman said.

She wrote even more in her post, tagging several Chinese media outlets.

“Every time I asked for funding, he made excuses. In the end, I had to compromise. What does it matter if I lose my dignity when it comes to my child? If I hadn’t traded my body, I might not have gotten a cent from the charity.”

While she did not explicitly state that the charity leader she slept with was Lei, she did reveal other unacceptable behavior within the project.

In another leaked conversation between an anonymous source and Lei, the charity’s boss brazenly claimed: “The mother of the child volunteered. I said, ‘If you sleep with me once, I’ll give you the donation,’ and then she volunteered.”

When asked that the funds belonged to the charity, and not to him personally, Lei replied, “But I manage the money. What’s the problem?”

Lei was previously hailed in 2019 as “an outstanding native of Henan and a dedicated member of the 1980s generation”, with his efforts praised by Xinhua news agency, China’s official state media.

In December 2017, he was even awarded the title of ‘Good People of China’.

An official source confirmed to The Paper that Lei had been under investigation months ago and that the case had been transferred to the Public Prosecution Service.

An official from the Civil Affairs Department of Henan Province said: “We take the issue seriously and are further investigating the matter.”