Founder of China's best known vocational school embroiled in domestic abuse scandal

Lan Rongxiang, controversial founder of China’s best-known vocational school Lanxiang, has been drawn into a scandal over allegations of domestic violence and accusations that he was the mastermind behind a fight in which his father-in-law was beaten up.

According to the on September 5, a group of students led by Lanxiang’s vice president, travelled from the school in the eastern city of Jinan to Shangqiu in central China to help regain control of a property disputed in Lan’s divorce case.

The property, called Tianlun Garden, was built by a property developer in which Lan holds 80 per cent of a stake and Lan’s wife, Kong Suying, holds the rest. The property was being guarded by Lan’s father-in-law, Kong Lingrong, who claimed his daughter owned the property, and insisted on staying there before the fight broke out. Kong received injuries to his hands and waist during the fight.

Not long after the fight, Kong told the that her husband had been having affairs with a number of women and that she had been beaten up by him for years. A medical record she provided showed she had been stabbed and attended hospital in Jinan for treatment for eight days in 2007.

Her tale was confirmed by their children, who said Lan abused with “knives and sticks” and would resort to force when they criticised his mistress.

Lan Rongxiang dismissed the allegations as “nonsense”, yet admitted that the accusations were having a huge impact on Lanxiang’s bottom line, with recent admissions dropping by more than 80 per cent, incurring estimated losses of 180 million yuan by the end of the year, he told the .

Accusations from Lan Rongxiang’s wife were just the tip of the iceberg.