KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 26

Police have arrested a Chinese national on the charge of taking hostage at least three minors, including a 13-year-old girl, and raping them.

They were lured into his rented house at Bungamati area of Lalitpur with the pretext of providing good job and financial support.

The arrested has been identified as Yang Liming, 49, a permanent resident of Xiamen of Fujian Province in China. He was arrested yesterday from the local Sorhakhutte area of Bungamati town in Lalitpur.

Police informed that the perpetrator used to lure small girls from different parts of the country. He used to forcibly confine them in his rented house and rape them.

Senior Superintendent of Police Siddhi Bikram Shah of Metropolitan Police Range, Lalitpur, said, "We have been able to rescue three minors - two 17-year-old girls from Pokhara and one 13-year-old girl from Mechi. The perpetrator would hold the girls for multiple days with the promise of money and good career opportunities and rape them multiple times."

Central Investigation Bureau and Metropolitan Police Range, Lalitpur, had investigated the case after a complaint was filed by a close family member of one of the victims. Police surmised that there could be more victims as the preliminary investigation showed that the arrested was a sexual predator. Police are yet to confirm the duration of his stay in Nepal and his other businesses here.

The tendency of overstaying visa and involving in heinous crime is on the rise of late.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 27, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.