Shanghai men paying large sums to matchmaking companies for foreign wives are experiencing some big losses - namely both the wife and the money.

Shanghai entry-exit authorities said yesterday that several c

A bad conclusion: No wife, no funds.[File photo]

ases have been reported this year in which Shanghai husbands, who paid for finding a wife from Southeast Asia, lost their wives soon after getting married, as the women fled, never to be seen again.

The Shanghai Entry-Exit Administration disclosed a case involving a man surnamed Geng, who paid 100,000 yuan (US$15,671) to a matchmaking company early this year.

Part of the money was commission to the company and part was a present for the bride's family in a Southeast Asian country. The administration refused to name the country.

Geng did not expect that after he got married his wife would start to frequently ask him to remit money to her parents. The two also fought constantly over family matters. After six months, in June, his wife went missing after a quarrel. He never managed to find her, knowing only that she had gone back to her country.

Geng confronted the matchmaking company, which told him that marriage was "beyond judging" and wouldn't compensate him.

Shanghai Daily yesterday found matchmaking agencies' ads posted on telegraph poles. The ads said people can marry women from Vietnam in three months if they pay 200,000 yuan.

"We ensure you that the woman is a virgin, and if she runs away we'll give you another one for free in a year," claim the ads.

The number on the ads, however, was not able to be connected yesterday.

The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said transnational matchmaking is illegal in China, but officials cannot punish companies because of flaws in the law.

In 1994, the State Council issued a regulation saying that matchmaking companies are banned from doing "transnational" business, and the regulation is still valid. But the country never elaborated how to punish the companies carrying out illegal business.

"We once inspected Shanghai's matchmaking companies, but it's not easy for us to crack down all the black agencies," said Lin Kewu, an official with the bureau. "Swindling companies would be handed over to the police, but we really can do little to the rest."