Unholy Matrimony

Forty days earlier, when a marriage broker in Zeng’s hometown of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, introduced Qi, Zeng knew nothing of his intended. The agent promised to take responsibility if the bride left him. But when Qi fled with his cash, the agency issued a stark response: “So sue us.”　

So-called flash marriage services started in 2023. Agencies, taking advantage of the male-female imbalance in China and the dearth of eligible brides, started fast matchmaking services, where they would introduce men and women from different provinces to each other, concluding the transaction in a week or less.　

Would-be grooms pay a high fee to the agency as well as a high “bride price” of cash and often lavish betrothal gifts, including gold, jewelry or cars to the bride. Many relationships ended soon after money or gifts exchanged hands, with many couples not legally married. In some cases, agencies and brides were reported to police for fraud, media reported.　

China’s top judicial authority, the Supreme People’s Court, warned in February that flash marriages brokered by agents are often followed by flash divorces and contract disputes. If one party misleads the other into believing they would form a lasting relationship as long as the other party pays, it may constitute criminal fraud.

Zeng believed the agent when he claimed that marrying a woman from Guizhou would only cost around 100,000 yuan (US$14,286) in betrothal gifts, about one-third the average amount brides get in Zeng’s hometown.　

“Such marriage agents target men who have few social interactions and are novices when it comes to love and dating. A flash marriage service may help them quickly get married without having to actually go through a relationship first,” Tian Peng, a flash marriage agent in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, told NewsChina. “And the women who choose a flash marriage hope they will find a man of better means.”　

“Of course, it’s possible that some are only eying the money and betrothal gifts under the guise of a flash marriage,” he added.　

That explains why many women involved in flash marriages are from less-developed regions like Guizhou, and why many targeted men are from regions where betrothal gifts are unaf-fordable due to higher gender ratios than the national average. A bride in Jiangxi Province can expect betrothal gifts totaling more than 300,000 yuan (US$42,857), the highest in the country. According to the seventh population census in 2020, the gender ratio in Jiangxi was 106.6 men for every 100 women, against the national average of 105.7.　

Zeng’s first attempt at flash marriage, after only two days, failed when the woman backed out. He wanted to quit then, but the agent told Zeng not to waste money on a relationship with a local woman who has high requirements for her betrothal gift.　

“If the woman cheats you, we will compensate you,” the agent told Zeng.　

And in another two days, 18-year-old Qi Chang arrived. She told Zeng she had completed junior high school and was an only daughter in a one-parent family. Still too young to legally marry, Zeng, Qi and the agent signed agreements saying that Qi would not leave, and if she did, she must pay back the betrothal gift and offer compensation.　

Zeng paid 270,000 yuan (US$38,571) altogether, including 150,000 yuan (US$21,429) to Qi as the betrothal gift and the rest split between the agent, Zeng’s matchmaker and Qi’s three matchmakers. Zeng said Qi’s three matchmakers came from two different marriage agencies and they brought Qi to him through rounds of subcontracting.　

“A flash marriage agent connects to the nationwide matchmaking network to find a proper match which will often involve a couple of other brokers, each of whom share the service fee together,” Lin Jingyi, a lawyer at Jiangsu Jieneng Law Firm who has dealt with over 20 cases related to marriage agency fraud or other disputes, told NewsChina. According to Tian, a matchmaker usually charges 20,000-30,000 yuan (US$2,857- 4,286) for each matched couple and some leading matchmakers may earn two to three million yuan (US$300,000- 400,000) every year.

About a month later, Qi asked Zeng for 2,000 yuan (US$286) to go visit her father, who she claimed was ill. When she failed to return after a couple of weeks, he went to Qi’s home, discovering her father was quite well.　

Zeng now broke off the engagement and asked for his money back, but Qi said she had spent it all and was quite penniless. At this point, Zeng filed a police report, and Qi was detained for alleged fraud on September 25, 2024. The police told Zeng that Qi had cheated another man in Zhejiang Province in the same way just one month before.　

In a WeChat group about alleged marriage fraud, seven interviewed victims told NewsChina their brides had left them. They all claimed they were left significantly out of pocket after paying agents and their intended brides, and wanted police to detain the brides and agents on charges of “marital fraud,” a crime which is not on China’s statute books.　

Many similar cases end up as civil cases, not criminal. Lawyers said that fraud should be based on confirmed purpose of “unlawful possession” and behavior that cheats victims by “faking facts” or “covering-up the truth.” According to Chinese law, giving sums of money and betrothal gifts for the purpose of marriage is legal.　

“The difficulty lies in that the police have to check and confirm if a paying party is attempting to reclaim the betrothal gifts legitimately given to the bride. More importantly, it is very hard to distinguish whether the economic exchanges in a relationship or marriage are legal and proper or for ‘illegal possession,’” a police officer in Guangdong Province who refused to reveal his name told NewsChina.　

A former judge who presided over both criminal and civil cases agreed. He told NewsChina on condition of anonymity that professional marital fraud is hard to discern from genuine marriage disputes. Fraudsters are adept in covering their tracks, and this makes it hard for police to investigate. Police and prosecutors are also wary of accepting cases that intersect both criminal and civil affairs.　

“We have to distinguish between an [ordinary] dispute and a fraud by using objective evidence, for example, to investigate whether or not the woman has acted this way before and whether she has faked personal information or colluded with a marriage agent,” the judge said.　

Lawyer Lin said many suspects go further to attempt to hide fraud. As Qi did to Zeng, they can write an IOU note which makes the money become a case of civil debt, rather than illegal possession, though they might never pay it off.　

Even when civil cases reach the courts, it is hard for court investigators to find strong evidence to prove fraud due to the privacy around married life.　

In May 2024, Jiang Yongping, another man who sought a flash marriage service from an agent in Jiangxi Province, sued his wife Chen Lina for marital fraud and asked for the return of the betrothal gifts.　

“I did receive the betrothal gifts, but I won’t give them back, because it’s not me that wants to divorce,” Chen told NewsChina. Jiang complained that Chen only stayed with him for a couple of weeks before going home and refused to return to him. But Chen countered that Jiang’s family did not get on with her daughter from a previous marriage, and that as Jiang did not have his own apartment, she felt uncomfortable living with his parents and brother.　

The court granted Jiang a divorce, but said he needed to bring a separate case over the betrothal gifts, since it involves a third party, the marriage agent.　

Dong Juan, a lawyer at Beijing DHH (Guangzhou) Law Firm, told NewsChina that she has searched for cases related to “marital fraud” published by courts nationwide at various levels and found that among 928 civil cases involving marital fraud, only 25.6 percent mentioned “fraud” in the ruling statements.　

“The difficulty of gathering [proper] evidence and unclear legal definitions make it hard to deal with marital fraud cases. If prosecutors don’t accept such cases, it’s even harder for a court to move the case from civil to criminal,” Yu Weihua, a former judge of the Supreme People’s Court of Zhejiang Province, told NewsChina.

But Jiang sued his marriage agent for contract dispute. The ruling showed that Jiang paid the agent 94,000 yuan (US$13,429) in service fees, and the court ordered the agent to refund Jiang 74,000 yuan (US$10,571). So far, Jiang has not received any restitution.　

“I fell into their [the agent’s] trap right from the start,” he said.　

Gao Li, a former employee of a flash marriage agent, told NewsChina that agents only care about making matches quickly. As the number of single men using the service is much larger than single women, agents often fake or conceal a woman’s true information. Zeng’s agent did not disclose that Qi has tattoos and Jiang’s agent did not tell him his bride Chen was actually in debt.　

“The agents have few requirements for women, who are often in debt or previously divorced,” Gao said. He claimed the women want to pay off their debts with the betrothal gifts.

Interviewed men told NewsChina they were never asked to show evidence of property ownership, even though they exaggerated their status. Agents upsell their clients, claiming that a market stall owner runs a factory, and overstate their income and prospects.　

This reduces flash marriage to little more than a commercial transaction, absent love or affection, with women treated as a commodity. One of the interviewed men said “I thought it was like making a deal and I paid to make it. I didn’t think I would lose both money and the woman.”　

Zeng told NewsChina that he did not care about how young Qi was, he just wanted to marry her quickly and get her pregnant.　

The men often signed agreements which they believed would prevent the women from leaving. Some were even more onerous, forbidding the women to go out without permission or staying in their own homes for longer than they said. If they broke the rules, the women would have to quit the marriage and return the betrothal gifts. But the “grooms” did not understand that these agreements are illegal, as they violate provisions on restriction of personal liberty in China’s Criminal Law. There is little chance that betrothal gifts could be fully refunded after a couple have legally married without consulting lawyers.　

According to lawyer Dong, an agent may have violated their contract if they deliberately concealed information about either party, like if they have tattoos, but if they faked key personal information like identities and marital status or lured one party to pay high sums of money, this may constitute contract fraud. Additionally, if they colluded with one party to cheat the other out of betrothal gifts or service fees in the name of flash marriage, this could end up in criminal court, rather than civil.　

Few agents have been found guilty of criminal contract fraud, and in other cases, few have been penalized given the difficulty of investigating and collecting evidence.　

“Some agents may evade the punishment by canceling their company registration, or they register their firm in the name of a deadbeat debtor, so victims wouldn’t get any money back even if they win the case,” Lin said.　

Many alleged male victims told NewsChina that they have reported marriage agents to local market regulation bureaus, only to find that responsibility was shifted around between other regulatory offices.　

Interviewed lawyers warned that flash marriage is making and expanding new risks, which should draw attention and response from legislative bodies and supervising authorities.