[The World Is a Strange Place] The Signature Disappeared from the IOU... A Close Friend's 'Ink Fraud'

Test-tube Baby... 'DNA Mismatch' with Parents, etc.

From a case where a baby conceived through in vitro fertilization had genes that did not match the parents, to a man who handed a debt document written in 'invisible ink' to a close friend, and even a husband who mistook the luxury brand 'Chanel' for a goose slaughterhouse, absurd incidents continued overseas this week as well.

Son Born via In Vitro Fertilization Turns Out to Have 'DNA Mismatch'

Newborn / Image source=Pixabay

According to the Chinese media outlet 'Fengmian News' on the 21st (local time), a couple in their 50s, Mr. and Mrs. Cheon, were shocked to discover late that the child born through in vitro fertilization did not match their genetic makeup.

The media reported that after the couple failed to have children following their marriage, they underwent in vitro fertilization at the Reproductive Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in 2011. However, a genetic test in 2020 revealed that the child's genes did not match those of the Cheon couple at all.

The couple has filed a lawsuit against the hospital. Recently, a Chinese court ruled that the hospital was responsible for serious negligence during the in vitro fertilization process, including using the wrong embryo, and ordered compensation of 640,000 yuan (approximately 120 million KRW).

The court pointed out that the hospital poorly managed the embryos during the in vitro fertilization process. Even more shocking is that the biological parents of the child have not been identified.

Regarding this, Mr. Cheon said, "The hospital irresponsibly said, 'What good is it to check blood relations now? If it were me, I would raise the child happily,'" and added, "If the child faces a serious illness requiring a bone marrow transplant, wouldn't help from biological relatives or their side be necessary?" expressing his frustration.

Man Repaid Friend Who Lent Large Sum with 'Invisible Ink Fraud'

Chinese Yuan / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 20th, Hong Kong media 'South China Morning Post' (SCMP) introduced the story of a Chinese man named Lei, which was posted on a social networking service (SNS) video channel.

In March 2018, Lei was asked by his friend Lin to lend 120,000 yuan (approximately 17,500 USD / 22.71 million KRW). Trusting his longtime friend Lin, Lei immediately lent the money and received a promissory note promising repayment. This note was handwritten by Lin himself.

However, an hour later, the characters written on the debt document suddenly disappeared. It turned out that Lin had written the document using special ink that naturally evaporates when exposed to the outside for a certain period. Eventually, Lei sued Lin.

The Chinese court ordered Lin to repay the borrowed 120,000 yuan. However, Lin reportedly did not repay the amount until early last year. Only after authorities enforced compulsory measures did Lin apologize and repay Lei in December of the same year.

Although the case was settled, the story spread and sparked outrage among Chinese netizens. The anecdote recorded over 11 million views on 'Weibo' (China's version of SNS), and the term "ink fraud" became a popular search keyword on various portal sites.

One Chinese netizen criticized, "This man (Lin) has no basic ethics," adding, "He will probably have no friends for the rest of his life." Another netizen pointed out, "He lost a friend who was willing to lend a large sum without hesitation, which is more important than money," and said, "He threw away a precious relationship himself."

Husband Mistakes Chanel for Butcher Shop

Chanel / Photo by Yonhap News

SCMP reported on the 23rd the story of a husband who confused a goose slaughterhouse with the French luxury brand 'Chanel.' The husband, who lives in Taiwan, recently promised to take his wife to 'Chanel.'

However, the wife's face soon twisted with anger after she went to the eagerly awaited Chanel. The place she arrived at was not the Chanel Taiwan branch but a butcher shop that slaughters and sells goose meat.

How did this happen? It was a mishap caused by the Chinese-speaking world's method of transliteration (writing foreign words in the native language) for all foreign languages.

Chanel is originally named after the French woman Coco Chanel. However, since Chinese, a logographic language, has no proper way to represent it, the Chinese-speaking world uses the brand name '香奈兒 (Xi?ngn?i'?r · Xiangnaier).' The problem was that there was a butcher shop in Taiwan with the same name, and the husband mistook it for Chanel.

The husband explained the situation, saying, "After hearing that my wife would go to 'Chanel,' she spent almost an hour putting on makeup in anticipation," and "After arriving at the butcher shop, she became completely silent."

Netizens responded with comments such as, "I hope you are alive tomorrow," and "Check your family registry carefully. You might already be divorced."