Boy in China steals gold bars worth US$790,000, buys luxury car, rewards accomplice who is sued by mother to recover money
- Young pair break into safe box, steal 15.5kg of gold bars
- ‘Mastermind’ boy goes on short-lived luxury shopping spree
The story of a woman who sued a friend of her teenage son to get back a gift of 210,000 yuan (US$30,000) that her boy gave to him for helping to steal gold bars worth 5.65 million yuan (US$790,000) has gone viral on mainland social media.
Surnamed Liu, from Hubei province in central China, the woman decided to take legal action against the friend, surnamed Lv, not only to recoup losses but also to teach him a lesson.
A local court supported Liu’s request and ordered Lv to return the 210,000 yuan that her son, nicknamed Xiaozhang, gave to him, Star Video reported.
The motive for and details of the theft are not clear, but Xiaozhang had a plan.
Early last year when his parents were not at home, he asked Lv to join him in carrying out the heist which involved breaking into a password-protected safe box. It is also not known how he got the secret code to open the box.
On seeing a pile of gold bars inside – weighing a total of 15.5kg – Xiaozhang was overcome with excitement and the only thing on his mind was selling them.