Chinese Prof Gets 3½ Years for Sex Parties

A Chinese college professor was sentenced to three and a half years in prison yesterday for holding private orgies and running a swingers' club. Computer science lecturer Ma Yaohai, 53, was convicted of licentiousness; 21 others got off easier because they pleaded guilty. Ma's defiance has struck a chord in a country with rapidly liberalizing sexual mores, where many think the laws he was sentenced under are unfair.

"It's definitely not a fair case," Ma's lawyer said. "It's not based on the law." During his trial, Ma argued he had committed no crime, since his sex parties were meetings between consenting adults in non-public places. Extramarital affairs and prostitution are common in China, and many Chinese believe the government should stay out of the bedroom, the Independent reports.