A Chinese mother has taken to television to demand justice for her 19-year-old son, who has an intellectual disability and was deceived into undergoing breast augmentation surgery by scammers.
The teenager, who was seeking employment at a cosmetic surgery clinic in Wuhan, was misled into believing that the procedure would help him gain followers through livestreaming and ultimately secure a job.
The clinic persuaded him to take out a 30,000 yuan ($4,180) loan to cover the surgery costs.
Despite the mother’s efforts, assisted by the TV station and legal aid, the surgery had already been performed by the time the loan was canceled.
The distressing case has sparked significant outrage on China’s social media platform Weibo, where it has garnered over 27 million views. Commenters have expressed their horror and condemnation, with many highlighting the inhumanity of the scammers. One comment read, “For the sake of money, one can give up one’s humanity,” while another exclaimed, “Worse than beasts!”
This incident is part of a broader pattern of increasing scams in China, particularly targeting vulnerable young people as the economy struggles. With a record 11.79 million students graduating this summer amid ongoing economic crises—including a trade war, the aftermath of COVID-19, and a property market slump—youth unemployment has soared to unprecedented levels. Last June, youth unemployment reached a record high of 21.3%.
Scams involving fake job offers, deceptive advertising, and predatory loans are on the rise, exploiting the desperation of job seekers. In a related case, a college student was tricked into renting an electric bicycle for a food delivery job, only to find that the promised earnings were vastly overstated.
The challenging job market has led some students to turn to scamming themselves, with a 68% increase in prosecutions of minors involved in fraud reported in the first ten months of 2023.
The Wuhan teenager’s ordeal was further compounded by the need for a second surgery to remove the implants. His mother expressed her pain on television, noting the visible scars left on her son’s chest.
