Students forced to give a ‘naked IOU’ to get a loan spark an outcry in China
Photographs used to threaten young women if they try to default on their debts
An opinion poll has suggested sharply divided opinions among the public in China after reports revealed that some female college students had to pose apparently naked holding their ID cards in order to get a loan.
The reports earlier this month said the people or groups lending the cash used the photographs as form of insurance or threat, saying they would publish the pictures if the debts were not paid back by the students or their parents.
A survey on the issue was carried out among just over 69,000 people and about 55 per cent of those polled said the women should be blamed, the Legal Weekly reported. Some said the case reflected falling moral standards.
About 44 per cent, however, said the loan sharks should take all the criticism for taking advantage of the young, vulnerable women.
Photographs of students have been published on the internet and marked “nude-selfie IOU”, with some trying to profit by selling the pictures.
The Southern Metropolis Daily reported earlier this month on the case of one young woman, whose real name was not given, who initially borrowed 500 yuan (HK$600) from a middleman on the peer-to-peer lending platform Jiedaibao at a weekly interest rate of 30 per cent.