Ma Xiaohai

Ma Xiaohai is a former computer science professor He was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail, His arrest and prosecution became the topic of discussion around sexual freedom in China.

Background Ma graduated from Zhejiang University in 1978 and was admitted to a master's degree program at Harbin Institute of Technology in 1986. In November 1994 he transferred to Nanjing Tech University.

Ma was divorced twice before he started participating in partner-swapping.

At the time of the prosecution, Ma was 53 years old and working as a professor of computer science at Nanjing Tech University.

Swinging and prosecution Ma first experimented with swinging in 2004.

He started an online chatroom called “Independent Travel for Husbands, Wives and Lovers” in 2007.

In the alleged "swingers trial" in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, he was the only one among 21 defendants to have pleaded "not guilty" to accusations of "group licentiousness" (聚众淫乱罪).

Because of the prosecution, Ma resigned from his position at Nanjing Technical University.