An anti-rape squad of female detectives selected for their seductive looks, skill in martial arts and acting ability has been set up by police in China.
The seven-woman team -- a first for the normally stodgy Chinese police -- has been organized in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, in response to growing public concern about a spate of unsolved sex crimes. Established earlier this month, it has drawn comparisons with the fictional TV crime fighters Charlie's Angels.
The squad's members, whose average age is 26, are all graduates of police academies.
According to the local media, they were chosen primarily for their beauty, but also because they are experts in kung fu.
Part of their job will be to act as the bait -- and the trap -- for sexual assailants who have plagued the Zhongyuan suburban district.
"The team members will lure suspects to commit crimes against them," their coach, Zhu Ji, said.
When they patrol the city's streets, the women will dress in short skirts, knee-high boots and revealing necklines.
For operations in rural areas, they will be dressed in more practical clothes so that they can pass off as country women. At all times, they will work in a team and carry hidden pistols.
The foundation of the team represents a significant change from traditional policing methods. Rape is believed to be very under-reported and under-investigated in China.
But after the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl last month -- the latest of about 30 violent sex crimes over the past two years -- public opinion in Zhengzhou has forced officers to consider a new approach.
"We are under a lot of pressure from the media to solve these crimes, but traditional methods haven't worked so we have decided to try something different," said Li Fei, of the Zhongyuan public security bureau.
The women are undergoing two months of training covering psychology, physical exercise, pistol use and acting.
"Acting is very important. In the past, we have tried to use regular policewomen to lure rapists, but they were unconvincing," Li said.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
China yesterday held a low-key memorial ceremony for the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not attending, despite a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Beijing has raged at Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. China and Japan have long sparred over their painful history. China consistently reminds its people of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, in which it says Japanese troops killed 300,000 people in what was then its capital. A post-World War II Allied tribunal put the death toll
A passerby could hear the cacophony from miles away in the Argentine capital, the unmistakable sound of 2,397 dogs barking — and breaking the unofficial world record for the largest-ever gathering of golden retrievers. Excitement pulsed through Bosques de Palermo, a sprawling park in Buenos Aires, as golden retriever-owners from all over Argentina transformed the park’s grassy expanse into a sea of bright yellow fur. Dog owners of all ages, their clothes covered in dog hair and stained with slobber, plopped down on picnic blankets with their beloved goldens to take in the surreal sight of so many other, exceptionally similar-looking ones.
‘UNWAVERING ALLIANCE’: The US Department of State said that China’s actions during military drills with Russia were not conducive to regional peace and stability The US on Tuesday criticized China over alleged radar deployments against Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, while Tokyo and Seoul yesterday scrambled jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the two countries. The incidents came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan. “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a US Department of State spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident. “The US-Japan alliance is stronger and more
RSS