- Sufiah Yusof
Sufiah Yusof (born 1985) is a former math
prodigy from Britain, who is working currently as aprostitute .Biography
Sufiah Yusof first made headlines in 1997 when she gained entry into
St. Hilda's College ,Oxford University to studymathematics at the age of 13. [cite news | url = http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030217/story3.html | title = Small Wonders | publisher =Time Magazine | author = Andrew Marshall | date =February 17 2003 | accessdate = 2008-03-31] [cite news | title = Oxford place for girl, 12 | date =13 January 1997 | publisher =The Times | page = 2] Her father Farooq Yusof was a pioneer in the scientifically unproven tutoring process called hothousing.In 2001, she ran away from her student flat in Oxford, after taking her final examination paper for the academic year. [cite news | title = Teenage girl prodigy goes missing after Oxford exams | author = Oliver Wright | date =
3 July 2000 | publisher =The Times | page = 1] She was found working as a waitress in aBournemouth Internet cafe two weeks later, but refused to return home, alleging that her parents made life difficult for her at home. [cite news | title = Police find runaway prodigy in London hotel | author = Alfred Lee | publisher =The Straits Times | date =8 July 2000 ] She stayed with a foster family instead.Two years later, she returned to Oxford to complete her
undergraduate master, but failed to finish the year. She later married a trainee lawyer from Oxford. She was working at the time as an administrative assistant for a construction company. Her marriage ended after 13 months.In March 2008, a reporter working undercover for the
News of the World found her advertising as aprostitute under the name Shilpa Lee, quoting a rate of £130 an hour. [cite news | url = http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/3003_hooker.shtml | title = Maths prodigy who won an Oxford place at 13 is now a £130-an-hour HOOKER | publisher =News of the World | author = Keith Gladdis | date =30 March 2008 | accessdate = 2008-03-31] [cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/30/nprodigy130.xml | title = Child maths prodigy 'working as a prostitute' | publisher =The Daily Telegraph | author = Megan Levy | date =31 March 2008 | accessdate = 2008-03-31] One of her friends described her change of fortunes as "desperately heartbreaking", adding that "her gift [for mathematics] really has been a curse". [cite news | title = From child prodigy at Oxford to £130-an-hour prostitute | publisher =Daily Mail | author = Andy Dolan | date =31 March 2008 | page = 9]Sufiah's father Farooq pleaded guilty in April 2008 over charges of "indecently assaulting two 15-year-old girls while working as a personal tutor." [cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/04/01/ftgenius101.xml | title = Sufiah Yusof - child genius revealed as prostitute | publisher =
The Daily Telegraph ]References
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