Chinese cancer man condemned for using US$97,000 in donations to buy flats while hiding family fortune

A 29-year-old cancer patient in China who tried to raise 900,000 yuan (US$125,000) online for medical treatment has sparked suspicions of embezzlement after posting photos of a new apartment.

This post comes shortly after he raised more than 700,000 yuan (US$97,000) in just a few days.

The man, surnamed Lan from Yichang in central China’s Hubei province, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare cancer, and began his fundraising campaign on a popular crowdfunding platform on October 14.

He introduced himself as a 2020 graduate of Nanjing University in Jiangsu province, north of Shanghai, who worked at a large internet company in Guangzhou in southern China before being diagnosed with cancer.

An official certificate of illness confirmed his diagnosis, stating that “the disease is difficult to treat when it recurs.”

The man explained that his family’s finances were depleted due to his father’s medical bills and subsequent death, leaving them with significant debts.