Today, the Shanghai courts have finally handed down the verdict for former Yuehua Entertainment trainee Huang Zhibo. After being booted out of Yuehua Entertainment following his arrest last month on charges of fraud for selling fictitious surgical masks online, the idol wannabe was finally sentenced to three years and three months jail time with no probation and ordered to cough up 10,000 yuan.
Did he get an easy verdict? Maybe? Or then again, maybe not. According to the courts, because Huang Zhibo voluntarily plead guilty to the charges and fully refunded the money he had stolen from all the victims with the help of his family, he was given a lighter punishment. Not gonna lie, I kinda felt bad for him when his sister first wrote an apology on his behalf revealing the dire state of the family’s finances and the heavy toll the medical expenses from their father’s heart disease had taken which could have explained why he did what he did. But then (unverified) whispers of having to pay off online loans being the real reason why he cheated people have been floating around so I really don’t know anymore.
Regardless, what he did was wrong, especially when the consequences could be life threatening. At a time like this when we’re all worried about keeping our families healthy and safe, it’s heartbreaking and equally frustrating to see scammers taking full advantage, especially when being scammed out of your hard earned money for face masks, hand sanitizers, alcohols and tissue paper should be the last thing on your mind.
Huang Zhibo’s sister posted details of their father’s diagnosis and their lease agreement on his social media page.
Hope everyone keeps safe and healthy indoors during this critical time.
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