20-Something Buys New House After Raising 200 Million Won for Cancer Treatment... Enraged Chinese Netizens

What Happened on a Chinese Crowdfunding Site
Claimed to Suffer from a Rare Disease, Shared Family and Financial Struggles
Raised Over 100 Million Won... Bought an Apartment Shortly After

A man in China claimed to be battling cancer and requested help on a fundraising site, but it was later revealed that he is actually a real estate wealthy individual, sparking controversy. The amount raised for this man reached 900,000 yuan (approximately 173.76 million KRW). On the 15th, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, "Mr. A (29), from Yichang, Hubei Province, China, recently posted on a crowdfunding site that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma."

Mr. A graduated from Nanjing University in 2020 and introduced himself as having worked at a well-known internet company in Guangzhou before his cancer diagnosis. He claimed to be struggling with life after being diagnosed with the relatively rare disease Hodgkin lymphoma. In particular, he appealed for help, saying that his family’s finances were depleted due to his father’s long-term illness and death, and that he was already heavily in debt. Upon hearing Mr. A’s story, netizens donated small amounts without suspicion, resulting in about 900,000 yuan being raised.

However, shortly afterward, news spread on social networking services (SNS) that Mr. A had purchased a new house for 730,000 yuan (approximately 140 million KRW). Moreover, suspicions arose that Mr. A’s family, far from struggling financially, owned two apartments worth about 1 million yuan (approximately 190 million KRW), making them real estate wealthy.

As a result, fundraising for him on the crowdfunding site was halted, and the site operator announced plans to recover the funds. The crowdfunding site stated, "Mr. A has been blacklisted, and he is permanently banned from conducting fundraising activities on our platform."

Netizens responded, "The money was given for medical expenses, but he bought a house," "Because of actions like this, people who truly need help might not receive donations and could suffer," and "Shouldn't the site have its own verification process?"