University embroiled in prostitution scandal

A university in Wuhan, Hubei Province, denied allegations on Monday that a hotel affiliated with the university organized prostitution and offered discounts to university students.

The Wuchang University of Technology is not related to the Guangxin International Hotel, and the university's president Zhao Zuobin is not among those in charge of the hotel, the university said in a post on its official Weibo account Monday.

The post also said that the university has reported the case to the Wuhan police.

An employee at the publicity department of the university reiterated that the university had nothing to do with the hotel. "We'll publish the police investigation results the moment they come out," he told the Global Times.

He said that the university was unaware of the sex trade in the hotel and has not investigated whether any students are involved in the case.

Reporters from the Beijing Times who went undercover at the Guangxin International Hotel, which is affiliated to the Wuchang University of Technology and located in the campus, found the hotel had been offering prostitution to clients under the guise of foot massages. Students were able to enjoy discounts with their student ID cards.

A student told the Beijing Times that a woman in charge of the foot massage section charged him 400 yuan ($65) for the "full service," and the student fled the room after he saw the masseuse take off her clothes.

When a Beijing Times reporter went to the hotel posing as a student, a female surnamed Zeng said to him that being a prostitute was her part-time job, and that she would hand over 150 yuan out of the total 400 yuan she made for "one massage" to the woman in charge of the foot massage section in the hotel.

The hotel temporarily suspended the foot massage service to clients on Monday, the Global Times learned.

The Guangxin Technology and Education Group, which has invested in the university and owns the hotel, announced on its website on Monday that the university and the hotel were two separate entities. The group, which said it had been unaware of the incident, and has reported the case to the police.

According to Chinese criminal law, people found guilty of organizing prostitution will be sentenced to up to five years in prison, and in some severe cases, will receive life imprisonment.

The Jiangxia district security bureau in Wuhan told the website of the Chutian Metropolis Daily Monday that the foot massage section, which has been running for three months, was ordered to suspend their business for investigation.