The story of a woman who sued a friend of her teenage son to get back a gift of 210,000 yuan (US$30,000) that her boy gave to him for helping to steal gold bars worth 5.65 million yuan (US$790,000) has gone viral on mainland social media.
Surnamed Liu, from Hubei province in central China, the woman decided to take legal action against the friend, surnamed Lv, not only to recoup losses but also to teach him a lesson.
A local court supported Liu’s request and ordered Lv to return the 210,000 yuan that her son, nicknamed Xiaozhang, gave to him, Star Video reported.
The motive for and details of the theft are not clear, but Xiaozhang had a plan.
Early last year when his parents were not at home, he asked Lv to join him in carrying out the heist which involved breaking into a password-protected safe box. It is also not known how he got the secret code to open the box.
On seeing a pile of gold bars inside – weighing a total of 15.5kg – Xiaozhang was overcome with excitement and the only thing on his mind was selling them.
The pair quickly sold the loot for 5.65 million yuan. The identity of the buyer is unknown.
As soon as Xiaozhang got the money, he frittered it away on luxury items including a Lamborghini sports car. He also gave Lv 210,000 yuan as a gift for helping him execute the theft.
Xiaozhang’ short-lived luxury lifestyle came to an end when his mother discovered the safe box was empty.
Angry and shocked, Liu called the police who were able to return the sports car to its owner. However, Lv only promised to return 50,000 of the 210,000 yuan he received from Xiaozhang.
At this point, Liu went to court to recoup the full amount of the gift.
The story has sparked a heated discussion on mainland social media.
One person said: “Oh my god, the son is the black sheep of the family.”
“Does the teenage son escape punishment?” Asked another.
Stories about young delinquents often make headlines in China.
In January 2019, a 13-year-old boy in southwestern China was arrested for beating his parents to death with a hammer after his mother refused to give him money to go to an internet cafe.
In December 2018, a 12-year-old boy from central China stabbed his mother to death because she beat him with a leather belt after catching him smoking.
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