18 Orgies Later, Chinese Swinger Gets Prison Bed...NY Times,

[Stuart G]

18 Orgies Later, Chinese Swinger Gets Prison Bed
By EDWARD WONG
Published: May 20, 2010
BEIJING — In public, he was a twice-divorced computer science professor dedicated to his students and to caring for an elderly mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

Ma Yaohai, 53, was sentenced on Thursday to three-and-a-half years in prison for being a member of clubs that practiced group sex and partner swapping.
In private, the professor, Ma Yaohai, 53, led a life that became intolerable to Chinese authorities: for the past six years, he was a member of informal swingers clubs that practiced group sex and partner swapping. In online chat rooms, his handle was Roaring Virile Fire. He organized and engaged in at least 18 orgies, most of them in the two-bedroom apartment in Nanjing where he lived with his mother, according to prosecutors.

On Thursday, a court sentenced the randy Mr. Ma to three and a half years in prison, a severe penalty for a crime that the Chinese government calls “crowd licentiousness.” Mr. Ma, now China’s most famous swinger, remains defiant and plans to appeal, saying his sex life is his own business, not subject to the law as long as he causes no social disturbance, according to his lawyer, Yao Yong’an.

“Privacy needs to be protected,” Mr. Yao said in an interview.

The case of Mr. Ma, who was arrested in August and went on trial last month, has drawn attention across China not only for its titillating details, but also because it raises questions about an authoritarian government’s attempts to curb sexual freedom and limit privacy in a society where rapid economic growth and the ubiquity of the Internet have upended traditional values.



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/world/asia/21china.html?ref=world

[LiberalLoner]

1. I have to agree, privacy ought to trump social mores in this case. If it's between

consenting adults, I don't understand the problem. I dunno. But I've always been a debauched type myself, so what do I know?

[ShortnFiery]

2. Not only too much invasion of an individual citizen's privacy,

Too much information. :P

[Mist]

3. Most disturbing detail: the orgies were held in the apt. he shared w/his mother. Was she

visiting other relatives? Or just an exceptionally heavy sleeper? Personally, the presence of my mother would kill any sexual energies...

[LiberalLoner]

5. If she had severe, advanced Alzheimers, she may not have been aware at all. n/t

[salguine]

4. This is not your typical a 53-year-old guy who lives with his mother.

[David__77]

6. Hopefully this law is scrapped.

Most such laws have been eliminated in China thankfully, and unmarried and gay sex is not prosecuted. So why group sex? It's not in the streets so it is not a social problem. It is a good sign that various authorities spoke out against the law and this verdict.

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Roaring Virile Fire!

I think he ought to be fined for his chutzpah, but nothing beyond that.