Deception unveiled: Shenzhen man pretending to be needy turns out to be fraud

An elderly man in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, who garnered sympathy after asking for directions to the railway station due to financial distress in a widely circulated video, has been revealed to be a fraud and was already under administrative detention, according to a notification issued by Shenzhen police on Monday.

The Shenzhen police released a statement on Monday evening regarding an incident involving the elderly man deceiving passersby to gain sympathy and financial support. The report detailed the case of a 58-year-old man surnamed Wang, who is currently unemployed.

Prior to the police notification, a video gained significant attention online, featuring a blogger encountering Wang, who claimed to be heading to Shenzhen North Railway Station and subsequently received a monetary gift from the blogger. However, the unexpected revelation came to light as the video garnered over 140,000 comments, with many individuals sharing their own experiences of being deceived by Wang.

According to the blogger's account, Wang approached him while walking and inquired about the route to the railway station. The blogger, moved by Wang's apparent distress, offered him 15 yuan ($2.1) for transportation after learning that Wang claimed to be without money for transportation.

The video gained rapid viewership, leading to numerous individuals sharing similar encounters in the comments section, recounting their own experiences of being deceived by Wang's deceitful tactics.

According to the police investigation, Wang had repeatedly approached pedestrians under the guise of asking for directions, claiming to be without money for transportation or meals, and exploiting their sympathy to obtain small amounts of financial assistance.

Wang had arrived in Shenzhen in 2020 and was residing with relatives in a rented property in the Nanshan district. Claims circulating online that he had been engaging in such deceitful practices for over 20 years and had acquired multiple properties were found to be false information.

As of now, Wang has been lawfully detained by public security authorities.