China Local News
‘Yueqing Boy’ Mother Falsely Reports Son as Missing to Test Husband’s Devotion
After five days of searching and drawing the attention of millions of people, the story ended with a twist.
In the early morning of the 5th of December, the Yueqing Public Security Bureau released a notice on Weibo stating that the “Yueqing Missing Boy” – real name Huang Zhengbao (黄政豪) -, whose missing had attracted the attention of millions, was found in good health.
According to the China Daily, the mother who had reported her son missing on the 30th of November had deliberately filed a false report. She hid her son in another house near their home and deceived her husband in making him believe their son was missing. All in an attempt to test how much he cared.
On the day that the boy allegedly did not return home from school, the parents had reported him missing at the local police station of Yueqing in the city of Wenzhou. In reality, the mother of the boy had met up with her son earlier that day when he was on his way home from school. She had ordered her son to wait in an arranged car on a parking lot, handed her son the keys of the car and some food, and went off.
Later, the mother reportedly came back and transferred her son to a house near the place they lived. He stayed in the house until the police found him.
Photo of the house where the boy was hidden.
The case of the missing boy attracted nationwide attention last week. A large-scale search operation was set up in Wenzhou. The police asked citizens to report any clues and forward information about the missing boy.
Netizens also came into action for the missing boy. The hashtag “11-year-old boy from Wenzhou missing for five days” (#温州11岁男孩失联5天#) received over 330 million views on Weibo. Many people forwarded information about the boy and expressed their sympathy for the family.
After the news spread that the whole incident was set up, Weibo users reacted with mixed feelings in the comment section of the Yueqing Police Official Weibo account. Many expressed their disbelieve about the mother’s actions, criticizing her for wasting so much of people’s time, efforts and money. But there were also those who were simply relieved the boy was found to be safe.
Timeline of events
The case started on the 30th of November when the 11-year-old boy did not return from school. As stated by the boy’s parents, the mother went to the bus station to wait for her son to get off the bus. When the boy had still not returned an hour later, both parents asked the Yueqing police for help.
According to China Daily, the Yueqing Public Welfare bureau launched a large-scale search operation that same night.
Social media was involved when the police asked people to forward news of the missing boy on channels such as Weibo and WeChat. They also mobilized as many volunteers as possible to help in the search.
On December 2nd, many Wenzhou people and netizens were shocked when the news came that the boy might have drowned in a small local river. A special search dog, employed to look for the boy, had given three signals at a river bank. Reason enough for the special search units to start looking for the boy’s body in the water. The footage of rescue teams combing out the river made their rounds online. However, after hours of searching, there was still no sign of the boy.
On the 4th of December, according to sources, the boys’ father announced that he would reward the person who could bring his boy home with 200,000 yuan (±$25,690). One hour later, the desperate father spread a video message online, in which he raised the reward to 500,000 yuan (±$64.240).
News of the missing went viral when Zhejiang media reported about the case, with millions of people instantly forwarding their posts.
On the 5th of December, the search for the boy came to an end when the Yueqing Public Security Bureau released a notice on Weibo, announcing that a family member of the boy deliberately falsely reported the boy missing. Huang Zhenghao was kept in good health and safety in a house, nearby the family’s home.
Various Chinese media reported that the boy’s mother and father were experiencing some troubles in their marriage, and that the mother had let the father to believe their son was missing to “test how much he cared.”
The mother was arrested for intentionally spreading false information, and has now been taken into custody. The police are further investigating the case.
Despite the mother’s arrest, the family of the boy expressed their sincerest gratitude to all the people who helped in search of Huang Zhengbao. In an interview with the uncle of the boy, he says that the boy is all right and went home with his father to have a good rest.
By Gabi Verberg, with contributions by Miranda Barnes.
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All images via Baijiahao.
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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers
Tsingtao Brewery ‘Pee-Gate’: Factory Worker Caught Urinating in Raw Material Warehouse
The pee incident, that occurred at a subsidiary Tsingtao Beer factory, has caused concerns among consumers.
China Local News
Streamed Without Realizing: Chinese Village Cadres Suspended after Sex Scene Video Leaks Online
“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do live-streaming!”
Two cadres working in Weicheng District in Shandong Province were suspended this week after an “inappropriate video” that showed them engaging in sexual acts started circulating on Chinese social media.
The two got a bit too cozy together in a meeting room, and the moment allegedly was unknowingly caught on camera after a secretary did not turn the camera off after a video conference.
On October 6, Phoenix News (@凤凰网) reported that the subdistrict office in question denied that such an incident took place in their jurisdiction.
The local Discipline Inspection Commission, however, confirmed that the incident did take place and that the case was under investigation, although they would not confirm which positions the two cadres held. Online, it was claimed that they are a thirty-something male secretary in and a fifty-something female director.
Two officials working at a local subdistrict office are suspended after a leaked video showed them engaging in sexual acts. The secretary allegedly forgot to turn camera off after a team meeting. News says it's not clear what their positions were, but I think it's pretty clear 🫢 pic.twitter.com/eRCX3owLDo
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) October 6, 2023
Some Chinese media sources noted that the video in question seems to have been recorded from a security camera system screen, raising questions about whether the two had forgotten about the security cameras, or if they actually forgot to turn off a conference call camera, or if the incident was captured by both the security cameras and the webcam.
On Weibo and other Chinese social media, the incident has caused some banter among netizens.
“At least our Party comrades are now addressing their needs internally without causing harm to society – that could be considered a form of progress,” one popular comment said.
“It’s not bad, it’s just bad that they forgot to turn the webcam off,” others replied.
“Ah, so this is officially what officials do?” others wondered.
“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do livestreaming!”
By now, it’s been confirmed by a staff member at the Wangliu St. Office in Weifang that the two individuals involved, both village cadres, have been suspended. They are currently under investigation by the Disciplinary Inspection Committee. By early Saturday, a related hashtag had garnered over 200 million views on Weibo (#两干部流出不雅视频被停职#).
By Manya Koetse
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K.
December 9, 2018 at 8:10 am
豪 is hao2, not bao.