Chinese police arrest millionaire mother to 118 orphans over alleged gang links
Li Lijuan used a fortune in iron ore mines to fund an orphanage before falling foul of the authorities
One of China’s most high-profile millionaire Good Samaritans who adopted more than 100 orphans over the last two decades has been arrested over alleged “gang-related blackmail”.
Li Lijuan, 48, from Wuan in northern China’s Hebei province, was also charged with “disturbing social order”, and her bank account, holding more than 20 million yuan (US$3.1 million) and over US$20,000, was frozen, Shanghai-based news portal Thepaper.cn reported.
In addition, Li’s Love Village orphanage in Wuan was closed. The 74 children living there had been sent to hospitals for check-ups and would receive professional counselling, Wuan police said in a statement on Friday.
The statement did not elaborate on Li’s alleged gang-related activities.
“In response to the public tip-offs that some trafficked children had been adopted in [Wuan], police will collect blood samples and fingerprints from these children and add their details to the public security system’s register of missing children,” the statement said.
Wuan mayor Qiang Yanfeng said the children would move to state orphanages and their medical and education costs would be covered by the government, Thepaper.cn reported.