In the cold early morning on New Year’s Day, Mr Kang arrived in Zhengzhou, in China’s Henan province, to demand answers in a bid to unfreeze his bank account.
Key points:
- Chinese police arrested more than 230 people for bank fraud
- Victims have been unable to withdraw money from frozen back accounts for nine months
- They say their protests have been met with intimidation and beatings by police
But shortly after he stepped out of the car after the 18-hour journey from Shanghai, he was bundled into a police car and detained.
Mr Kang is one of more than a thousand people left unable to withdraw their own money after a financial scandal rocked four banks in rural China.
The 34-year-old said he had deposited about 2.1 million yuan ($450,000) – his family’s whole life savings — in his now-frozen account.
Since April last year, at least 40 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) has been frozen in four of the small-sized banks, including Mr Kang’s bank, Yuzhou Xinminsheng Village Bank, as well as Shangcai Huimin Village Bank, Zhecheng Huanghuai Village Bank and Kaifeng Xindongfang Village Bank.
It triggered months of massive protests.
Warning: This story contains details that may be distressing to some readers
Mr Kang, who gave only his surname as he feared repercussions from Chinese authorities, said he was “on the verge of collapse” due to…
