11th May 2026 – (Guangzhou) A Guangzhou man who had already registered his marriage in Hong Kong in 2023 has been arrested for allegedly posing as an unmarried civil servant to defraud several women of substantial sums of money.
Police in Guangzhou’s Liwan district launched an investigation after a woman reported that her boyfriend, who claimed to be a government official, repeatedly avoided discussing marriage despite her pregnancy. When she attempted to verify his employment with the purported government department, she discovered no such person worked there.
Officers later uncovered that the suspect, surnamed Wang, had in fact married in Hong Kong three years ago. Investigators allege he exploited the trust and admiration often associated with public officials to deceive five unmarried women, obtaining a combined total of 1.7 million yuan (approximately HK$1.95 million).
The complainant told police she met Wang at a social networking event in November 2024. He introduced himself as an employee of a state agency, claimed to own a flat in Haizhu district and said his mother was a Hong Kong resident. To bolster his credibility, he sent her images of documents bearing what appeared to be official insignia and stamps. After learning she was pregnant in March this year, she pressed him to formalise their relationship, but he repeatedly stalled. Suspecting deception, she contacted the authorities.
Further inquiries revealed that Wang had maintained close relationships with multiple unmarried women simultaneously and was suspected of conducting overlapping romantic relationships as part of a wider fraud. Police carried out an arrest operation in early April and detained him. He is currently being held in criminal custody.
During questioning, Wang admitted that he believed presenting himself as a civil servant would enhance his appeal in the marriage market. He initially claimed to have defrauded three women of around 40,000 yuan (about HK$46,000). However, investigators concluded that he had concealed more serious offences.
Police said evidence showed that since 2019 he had been active on various dating platforms, deliberately targeting women eager to marry and seeking stability. He allegedly cultivated the persona of a wealthy and eligible bachelor, fabricated official documents and conducted what officers described as calculated “targeting” of victims. In total, five women are believed to have fallen prey to his scheme.