A Chinese influencer’s home suffered significant damage after a visiting child, upset at being denied a rare Labubu toy, shattered a glass ceiling and broke an Italian crystal chandelier worth a combined 400,000 yuan (US$56,000).
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Tantrum leads to destruction
According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the incident was shared online by male influencer “Little Azheng”, also known as “Tail Brother”. He said a relative visited his home with a young boy who became fixated on his Labubu doll, which was decorated with expensive jewellery. When the child’s request to have the toy was refused, he threw a tantrum, crying loudly and making a scene.
In a fit of anger, the boy allegedly hurled a remote-control device into the air, smashing the living room’s mirror-glass ceiling valued at 100,000 yuan (US$14,000). SCMP reported that the child also damaged an Italian crystal chandelier worth an estimated 300,000 yuan (US$42,000).
Extent of the damage
{{/usCountry}}In a fit of anger, the boy allegedly hurled a remote-control device into the air, smashing the living room’s mirror-glass ceiling valued at 100,000 yuan (US$14,000). SCMP reported that the child also damaged an Italian crystal chandelier worth an estimated 300,000 yuan (US$42,000).
Extent of the damage
{{/usCountry}}Photographs posted by the influencer showed shards of glass scattered across the floor and the chandelier smashed on the ground. “The repair work for the ceiling alone requires removing and replacing all the remaining glass panels,” the influencer said. Despite the destruction, the boy reportedly showed no remorse.
Parents plead poverty
SCMP reported that the boy’s parents asked the influencer not to publicise the matter or involve the child, claiming it could “affect the boy’s mood”. They insisted they were too poor to pay the full cost of the damage.
“We are poor and cannot afford compensation. There is no point in going to court, please do not involve the child,” they said, offering only 20,000 yuan (US$2,800) in two instalments. “Even if we have to sell everything, we can only pay this much,” they added.
The influencer reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, stating, “Elders always love using kinship as emotional blackmail. It is incredibly boundary-crossing.”
The labubu craze
Labubu dolls, originally popular in China, have gained a global following. Some individual figures have sold for extraordinary amounts. SCMP reported that one Labubu figure fetched over one million yuan (US$140,000) at an auction in Beijing in June.