Officials confirm head of 9958 Project under China Charities Aid Foundation for Children is being investigated. — SCMP
The boss of a charity organisation in China has been accused of seeking sexual favours from a desperate mother in exchange for donations to help her seriously ill child.
A female charity worker, surnamed Zheng, who helped set up the 9958 Project under the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children, publicly accused Lei Ke, the regional head of the project, of exploiting a mother the charity was supposed to be helping.
Founded in 2010, the Beijing-based foundation is one of China’s most well-known charities.
Zheng revealed that the 9958 Project, which is designed to help children with severe illnesses, is one of the most “resourceful” initiatives within the foundation.
Lei, who is now under investigation by the authorities, was head of the project for central China, in charge of Henan and Hubei provinces, reported The Paper.
It is unclear at this stage of the probe if there are other victims.
According to WeChat screenshots provided by Zheng, Lei frequently sent provocative messages to a mother, including “Love you forever” and “I didn’t love the wrong woman”.
Another screenshot showed a mother replying: “I am not a good person either, I’m just doing this for my child. Before you give me a cheque we always go to a hotel. Is there anything in this world that isn’t dirty?”
Zheng received the screenshots from an Internet user via a private Weibo message in June.
She encouraged the party, whom she reasonably assumed to be a victim, to report the incident to the police. It is unclear if legal action has been taken.
In 2020, Zheng reported a similar case involving a woman, surnamed Liu, who was allegedly coerced into sleeping with Lei.
However, the police later concluded that the act was consensual, and the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, reported Red Star News.
In January, another Internet user, identified as Xiaohuangyayaya123123, publicly disclosed how she had been “lured” into sleeping with a charity boss for a year after he told her “the foundation has money”.
“I ultimately 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 of ‘the foundation has money’ and I endured a year of exploitation,” the woman said.
She further wrote on her post and tagged multiple mainland media outlets.
“Each time I asked for funding, he concocted various excuses. In the end, I had to compromise. What does losing my dignity matter when it’s for my child? If I hadn’t traded my body, I might not have received one penny from the charity.”
While she did not explicitly state that the charity leader she slept with was Lei, she also revealed other unacceptable treatment within the project.
In another leaked conversation between an anonymous source and Lei, the charity boss boldly claimed: “The child’s mother volunteered. I said, ‘If you sleep with me once, I’ll give you the donation,’ then she volunteered.”
When challenged that the funds belonged to the charity, not to him personally, Lei replied: “But I control the money. What’s the problem?”
Lei had previously been celebrated as “an outstanding Henan native and a dedicated member of the 1980s generation” in 2019, with his endeavours praised by Xinhua News Agency, China’s official state media.
He even earned the title of “Good People of China” in December 2017.
An official source confirmed to The Paper that Lei had been placed under investigation months ago and the case has been transferred to the prosecution service.
A member of staff from the Civil Affairs Department of Henan province said: “We are taking the issue seriously and are further investigating the matter.” – South China Morning Post
