Nanjing police have arrested a drug-addicted, AIDS-infected prostitute who, with her siblings, lured up to 24 men into deadly one-night stands and drug-taking sessions, a Nanjing newspaper reported today.

Police said Liao Feng, 38, a Nanjing native, became addicted to drugs in 1993 after she became a mistress of a Hong Kong businessman in Guangzhou City, Yangtze Evening Newspaper said.

The report added that her name was a pseudonym.

Liao turned to prostitution to fund her drug addiction after the Hong Kong man dumped her six months later.

Soon after being detained in Guangzhou, she was found to have been infected with AIDS, possibly by sharing syringes with other prostitutes, the report added.

After being released, Liao returned to Nanjing, enticed her brother and sister into injecting drugs, and spread AIDS to them by sharing infected syringes.

Liao then arranged for her brother to manage her prostitute business which involved her sister luring men off the street into one-night stands. The women tricked the clients into taking drugs by claiming they could arouse sexual desires.

Most of the clients were found to have been infected with the disease through unprotected sex with the sister, the report added.

In some districts in Nanjing, about 80 percent of female drug addicts become prostitutes, the report said, citing a local police official.

New generations of drugs, including "dance drug" Ketamine, known on the street as "Special K," have become popular in entertaining venues.

Since December 1, there have been 65 new AIDS cases reported in Shanghai, an increase of 41.3 percent from the same period of 2006.

The number of male victims is 4.4 times the figure for females and people aged between 25 and 44 are the most affected.

Unprotected sex is the main cause of transmission for Shanghai patients, while intravenous drug use is the chief culprit for those from out of town, previous reports said.

(Shanghai Daily March 25, 2008)