A Chinese grandfather was shocked to discover that his 11-year-old grandson spent his entire retirement savings on tips for livestreamers.
Identified only by his surname Li, the pensioner from Sichuan found that 40,000 yuan ($5,965) disappeared from his bank account after trying to withdraw his money at a bank in Dujiangyan on January 28.
Li then checked his bank transactions records and discovered that almost all of his money had been paid to live-streaming app iQiyi in the span of three days.
According to Huaxi City Daily via MailOnline, only 600 yuan ($90) was left in his account.
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Upon questioning by his grandad, the boy, nicknamed Xiaowei, confessed that he used the money to give tips and buy virtual presents for his favorite female live-streamers on the app. Xiaowei also admitted using the money to play video games.
The app converts real money to virtual currency, called “Qidou” so members can tip hosts, purchase videos or play games.
Xiaowei completed a total of 54 transactions on iQiyi based on the images of bank statements released by The Cover.
“He likes to play on my mobile phone and knows the password to my online cash account,” Li was quoted as saying.
He said he gave the pin number to his grandson so he could pay for food on his own. Li admitted that he rarely supervises the child’s transactions online.
Li, who lives with his daughter and son-in-law, revealed that the 40,000 yuan in his bank was his retirement income for the entire year.
After the family reported the case to iQiyi, the company conducted an investigation and said it would offer a refund to the grandfather. Since Xiaowei is deemed a minor in China, he has limited civil conduct capacity.
Featured Image via The Cover
