Kidnapping victim forced to work as bar hostess

A man has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend at knife point and forcing her to work as a bar hostess in Jiangsu province, a district court said Tuesday.

The defendant, surnamed Li, was charged with illegal imprisonment for taking his ex-girlfriend from her workplace in July and holding her against her will for four days, according to a press release from the Jiading District People's Court.

Li had been in a relationship with the victim, whom the court called Jia Jia, until they broke up in 2012, the court said.

It was unclear why Li kidnapped Jia Jia, said Zhang Xiaoli, the court's press officer. Although Jia Jia said they had broken up, Li said they were still in a relationship, just an "unstable" one.

Li and the three other men who kidnapped Jia Jia were carrying knives and replica guns when they took her from the foot massage parlor where she worked, the court said. Li first brought Jia Jia to Taicang, Jiangsu province, before moving her to a hotel in Mudu town in Suzhou. He took Jia Jia's mobile phone and forced her to work as a hostess at a bar.

Other than drinking with customers, it was unclear what Jia Jia had to do as a hostess.

Although Jia Jia said she was forced to perform sexual services for the bar's customers, there was not enough evidence to prove that she was pressed into prostitution, Zhang told the Global Times.

While in Mudu, Li kept Jia Jia in a hotel during the day to make sure she couldn't leave town or call for help. He took her to the bar each day and picked her up when she finished work. Others oversaw her while she worked in the bar.

On July 8, Jia Jia sent to her boss at the massage parlor a message asking for help, the court said. The boss called the police.

Li slapped Jia Jia when he found out she had contacted someone for help.

After he was arrested, Li refused to admit to the kidnapping charge. Facing a charge of illegal imprisonment, Li could have been sentenced up to three years in prison.