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Chinese women have resorted to a unique way for dealing with troublesome ex-boyfriends or dishonest landlords. They are seeking help from a group, referred to as the 'White Mafia', to deal with such 'personal' issues, The South China Morning Post reported.
This unique group of bodyguards appear to be quite tough but are very gentle in their handling of sensitive, personal issues of their clients.
The group, officially known as the 'Professional Bodyguard Team' appears to recruit 'tough' agents. However, they are very gentle in handling sensitive or personal issues of their clients. Thus making them gain widespread popularity among women in the country.
The “White Mafia” services seems to have attained huge attention on mainland social media. They have 160,000 followers on Douyin, a platform similar to that of TikTok in China.
The men in the group dress in black and might resemble those who are generally associated with criminal gangs in China.
But these 'good guys' help out their female clients instead, for a fee of course.
To address sensitive issues like bullying or domestic violence, these bodyguards resort to methods that vaguely resemble “intimidation” and “persuasion”.
Netizens call them “'White Mafia' as these men refer to themselves as the 'female guardians' of justice."
Lei, a “white mafia” member, told the publication that their team consisted of retired military officers, business owners, and even female boxers.
He also mentioned that their team was initially formed to provide security to celebrities and public figures, in the year 2018.
He said, “By 2022, more individuals approached us for help with personal issues. Due to gaps in the law, some problems could not be resolved through traditional means, so we began helping vulnerable groups in our own ways.”
The team member also asserted that women aged between 2- to 35, constituted 70 percent of their client base. These women reach out to them via the Douyin platform.
Their service charge ranges from a few thousand to 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), as some services are short spanned, whereas some could last up to a year.
Recollecting an incident, he talked about a case where along with one of their team members, a woman went to court to seek divorce from her abusive husband, who was on the other hand resisting the divorce.
He said, “As soon as she exited the court, the man threw sulphuric acid at her in retaliation. Fortunately, one of our team members shielded her with an umbrella.”
He shared details about another case wherein a young woman wanted to break up with her boyfriend who abused her physically and verbally, and also threatened her about leaking their intimate photos.
Lei’s team helped her to end her toxic relationship, and she was charged about 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) for the service.
By deterring bullies, the team also provided security to children who got bullied in schools.
Helping tenants recover overdue deposits from their landlords, was also a jon undertaken by the 'White Mafia' team.
Lei asserted that all of their services were totally in compliance with the law, as the team assisted, guided all their clients to seek help from police as and when necessary.