Police in Shanghai and four provinces around the country have arrested 18 people for allegedly running a pornographic Website that broadcast strip shows performed by 30 young women hired over the Internet, the Changning District Public Security Bureau announced yesterday.

Police said 23 suspects were seized in September, but only 18 remain under arrest. They wouldn't say how many of the suspects were managers and technicians at the Website, and how many were strippers.

The two chief suspects, whom police would only identify as Xiong and He, were both captured in Shanghai as they prepared to take a flight to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Police said the Website accepted payment by bank transfer, and the group earned more than 400,000 yuan (US$50,000) from the site since it was set up in May.

Huang Ying of the Changning District Public Security Bureau said the investigation started in August after police received an anonymous call from a desperate wife, who claimed her husband was so indulged in online pornography that he spent all night in front of the computer screen.

"She complained her husband spent more than 3,000 yuan on the online pornography within a month," Huang said. "The woman tipped off police about the Website address and the contact number of the Website operator, which she secretly jotted down."

Investigators soon began looking into two men who lived in an apartment along Jianhe Road: Xiong, a native of Jiangsu Province, and He, who hails from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

According to neighbors, the pair were reportedly unemployed but led an extravagant life, Huang said.

"We assumed the pair were senior management staff of the illegal Website. Xiong and He booked two air tickets to Guangxi on September 26, which forced police to go into action earlier than anticipated," she added.

At 7 PM that day, Xiong and He were captured at Hongqiao International Airport.

Following an hour's interrogation, the suspects allegedly told police they spent 200,000 yuan to set up the site and hired about 30 women to perform strip shows.

They also gave police a list of 10 sites in Shanghai, Guangxi and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangdong where the pornographic shows were staged.

According to the Chinese laws, those found guilty of organizing pornographic performances will face a maximum of 10 years in jail.

(Shanghai Daily December 19, 2006)