Dead cockroaches, used condoms: Chinese man scams 63 hotels to extort money, seeking free stay

Jiang carefully prepared his props which he used to fabricate unhygienic and dirty room conditions - dead cockroaches, cicadas, hair and used condoms.

A Chinese man spent his college fee for travelling and scammed multiple hotels by keeping dead cockroaches and used condoms in the rooms in order to seek free accommodation and monetary compensation.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the 21-year-old man from Taizhou, Zhejiang province, having the surname Jiang, defrauded 63 hotels.

Jiang set out on his deceitful journey in September 2023 when he decided to use his university tuition for travelling rather than getting himself enrolled.

After he ran out of money, Jiang resorted to a deceptive and creative way of extorting money by scamming hotels.

Jiang carefully prepared his 'props'—dead cockroaches, cicadas, hair and used condoms—which he used, to fabricate unhygienic and dirty room conditions in the rooms where he would stay.

According to SCMP, a police officer from Linhai in Zhejiang said, "Over a span of 10 months, Jiang frequently stayed at hotels, sometimes checking into three or four different ones in a single day. He would exploit minor flaws or plant insects, bugs, and hair to threaten hotels with complaints or online exposure, demanding free stays or compensation."

Although many hotels happened to comply with Jiang's demands to keep their reputation intact, his scam came to an end on August 8, 2024.

A hotel's manager, named Ke, reported Jiang to the police for alleging unsanitary conditions and trying to defraud 400 yuan from the hotel.

According to the publication's report, a staff member of one of the hotels said, "His complaints about supposed bugs and hair in the rooms were alarming. Upon discussing these incidents with several other hotels, we noticed a recurring pattern with this guest."

During the preliminary probe, police arrested Jiang from a local hotel and found 23 packets in his belongings containing dead cockroaches and used condoms.

A detailed probe further discovered that Jiang had stayed in 380 hotels since November 2023, most of which showed financial transactions tagged as 'refund or compensation'.

According to SCMP, though Jiang has confessed to defrauding 63 hotels and extorting 38,000 yuan, the police have contacted other hotels in five provinces of the country.

Jiang's case has been transferred to Linhai People's procuratorate for further legal process.