A man in his thirties from Jiangxi, China, claimed he was scammed into a sham marriage through a matchmaking agency, leaving him both heartbroken and more than RM170,000 (300,000 yuan) out of pocket in less than a month.
According to Yangcheng Evening News, the victim, Mr. Huang, said the incident began last December after he came across an online matchmaking advertisement while scrolling through short videos.
Marriage after just 4 days of knowing each other
Intrigued, he visited Zhenxi Matchmaking Company in Huaguoyuan Financial Street, Guiyang, where a matchmaker introduced him to Ms. Lee, a woman who was in the midst of divorcing her husband.
The pair met on Dec 14, 2024. Just three days later, Ms. Lee finalized her divorce.
Shockingly, by Dec 18, only four days after meeting, Mr. Huang traveled with her to her hometown of Anshun, where the two registered their marriage.
Discovery of troubling past
Mr. Huang then brought Ms. Lee back to Jiangxi, hoping to start a new life together. But his hopes were quickly shattered.
During a hospital visit for pre-pregnancy health checks, he discovered that Ms. Lee had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and a history of drug abuse.
Shortly after, Ms. Lee began frequently returning to her hometown. By January this year, she left completely and disappeared without contact.
When Mr. Huang returned to Guiyang to confront the matchmaking agency, he learned that Ms. Lee had resumed attending matchmaking sessions with other men, collecting dowries while allegedly being deep in debt.
Eventually, she was detained by police on fraud charges.
Mr. Huang now strongly suspects that he fell victim to a “marriage scam”, where con artists lure victims into relationships to swindle money.
Matchmaking agency responds
The head of Zhenxi Matchmaking Company, Ying Guohong, confirmed that both Ms. Lee and the matchmaker involved have been arrested. He stated that the agency has refunded the RM17,691 (30,000 yuan) service fee collected from Mr. Huang.
However, Ying denied responsibility for the rest of Mr. Huang’s losses, amounting to over RM160,000 (270,000 yuan), claiming that the two men who brought him to the company were not official employees but only external partners.
Both parties have since filed police reports to resolve the matter.
