"Spend as Much as Your Annual Salary in a Day" Granddaughter's Money Boast Exposed... Chinese Government Seizes Retired Duty Officer's Assets

"Our Assets Worth 10 Billion Won" Flaunted on SNS
Authorities Respond to Criticism with Party Expulsion and Asset Confiscation

A retired Chinese official's corruption was belatedly uncovered due to a girl who flaunted wealth on social media. The Chinese government subsequently stripped the official of his party membership and confiscated his assets.

According to local media including China News Network on the 11th, the Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervisory Commission (Discipline and Supervision Commission) of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, announced that they had stripped Zhong Gengci, former director of the Cargo Transportation Management Branch of Shenzhen Transportation Bureau, of his party membership and decided to confiscate his illegal income. Furthermore, the Discipline and Supervision Commission will investigate and punish him for serious violations of discipline and law, including illicit wealth accumulation.

The 'Arctic Catfish' (left) boasting assets worth over 10 billion won and his grandfather, Zhong Gengci [Photo by Yonhap News · Baidu]

Now 75 years old and retired since November 2007, Zhong Gengci is facing punishment for illicit wealth accumulation 16 years after retirement because of his granddaughter. Zhong’s granddaughter posted content on social networking services (SNS) flaunting her family’s wealth.

In March, using the pseudonym "Bukgeuk Megi" (meaning "Arctic Catfish"), she revealed on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) that seven members of her family had immigrated to Australia. She wrote, "Our family’s vast wealth was provided by many Chinese people," adding, "How could I not love China?"

She further boasted, "What I know is that our family’s wealth is in the nine-figure range (100 million yuan, approximately 18.4 billion KRW)," and said, "If there is a country I want to go to, I can go anywhere."

When many netizens criticized her, she retorted, "Pigs only drink dog-washing water," and attacked, "I can spend in one day what those who insult me earn in a year, and anyone without a senior official at the level of bureau chief or above in their family has no right to insult me."

The granddaughter’s misconduct did not stop there. She posted a photo of her grandfather and wrote, "It seems like he embezzled."

Her posts sparked public outrage, and netizens eventually uncovered that she was Zhong Gengci’s granddaughter.

As the controversy spread, Zhong Gengci told local media in an interview, "I worked diligently until retirement, but I am devastated by my granddaughter’s reckless behavior," asserting his innocence by saying, "I have explained to the authorities, and a strict investigation will be conducted." He added, "I am worried about the impact on the honor of the organization I belonged to and on my granddaughter’s studies."

Investigation Results Released Amid Rising Public Criticism

At the age of 75 this year, he retired in November 2007, and it was because of his granddaughter that he was punished for illicit wealth accumulation 16 years after retirement. The granddaughter of the evidence holder posted on social networking services (SNS) boasting about her family's wealth.
[Photo source=Pixabay]

Despite Zhong Gengci’s explanation, the controversy did not subside easily. In response, the Shenzhen Transportation Bureau immediately announced it would conduct a fact-finding investigation. However, six months later in September, it declared, "According to the provisions of the Information Disclosure Ordinance, the investigation results will not be disclosed."

This was perceived as the authorities protecting Zhong Gengci’s corruption, which further fueled public criticism.

An internet poll conducted by the state media China News Network among over 103,000 respondents showed that 93% demanded the disclosure of the investigation results.

State media also argued, "To calm the angry public sentiment and resolve public doubts, the investigation results must be transparently disclosed."

Under continued public pressure, the Discipline and Supervision Commission confirmed Zhong Gengci’s illicit wealth accumulation and initiated punishment procedures.

The Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, evaluated, "The authorities’ actions regarding the ‘Arctic Catfish’ incident demonstrate that corrupt officials cannot rest easy even after retirement, and the tail of corruption will eventually be caught."

Furthermore, the People’s Daily sarcastically commented on the granddaughter’s ‘reckless’ behavior, saying, "The Arctic Catfish was not cautious and ended up exposing her grandfather while contributing to anti-corruption efforts. A catfish brought a big fish out into the open; I wonder if the Arctic Catfish regrets it."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.