Chinese man arrested for posing as delivery rider 43 times a day

Click Expat Channel above ↖

Since 2004

An influencer in China with over 400,000 followers was arrested by police after he fabricated a story about delivering food with his toddler daughter to portray himself as a single father.

The man, who operated under the handle @qianyibaobei on Douyin, claimed to be a single father to a toddler named Qianyi, whom he brought along while working as a delivery rider because her mother had abandoned them.

In large font across all his videos, he writes, “She does not have a mother.”

In one particularly sympathetic video, the man, dressed in the yellow uniform of food delivery app Meituan, states that he delivered 43 orders alongside Qianyi and earned 300 yuan (US$40) in a single day, so he could buy her nice food.

He also urged his audience to like his videos, revealing that he had accidentally injured his daughter’s face while working.

He amassed over 400,000 followers combined on Douyin and Kuaishou, producing more than 100 similar videos, and profited from live-streaming sales, all under the guise of supporting his daughter’s livelihood.

On December 3, police reported that the man had misrepresented his background. He is neither a delivery worker nor a single father, and Qianyi’s mother still “lives happily” with them.

The uniform he wore in the videos was bought online.

The police stated they have penalised the man, surnamed Yu, for disturbing public order. They did not disclose the specifics of the punishment.

According to China’s Public Security Administration Punishment Law, intentionally disturbing public order by spreading rumours can result in up to 10 days of detention and a 500-yuan (US$70) fine.

Yu is not the first KOL punished for “sadfishing”.

Earlier this year, a KOL known as @Liangshanmengyang was sentenced to 11 months in jail and fined 80,000 yuan (US$11,000) for lying about her impoverished life.

The 21-year-old Douyin influencer, who boasted nearly four million followers, claimed to care for her siblings and subsisted on potatoes all day after their parents died, all while living in the poverty-stricken Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in southwestern China’s Sichuan province.

It later emerged that the dilapidated village home featured in her videos was actually a shelter for goats and cattle, and her parents were still alive. Additionally, she was found to have worn luxury clothing and jewellery outside her live-streams.

The police investigated her and uncovered a multichannel network company that fostered such sadfishing accounts. The company’s owner, surnamed Tang, sold fake agricultural products through these accounts, generating over 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) in profits.

He was sentenced to 14 months in prison and fined 100,000 yuan (US$14,000).

“I do not believe in such sadfishing videos. People whose lives are genuinely difficult have no time to be KOLs and make videos every day,” commented one viewer.

“Liars like this exploit people’s kindness and prevent those truly in need from receiving help,” stated another.

∨

Something to share with the admin ?

Add wechat 17718389296

有什么与我们分享，吐槽吗？请添加小编微信