A family’s life was changed dramatically when a Chinese grandfather resorted to desperate measures of settling his $97,000 gambling debt – kidnapping his own granddaughter.
In a deeply disheartening incident that lies testament to the harmful effects of gambling addiction, a Chinese grandfather resorted to an act of desperation and horror. The 65-year old man took his four year-old granddaughter hostage in exchange for 500,000 yuan ($96,600) – money he owed due to problem gambling. His daughter reported the case immediately resulting in Yuan’s arrest and imprisonment whereupon he tried shifting blame onto her by saying she was ungrateful instead owning up to his misdeeds!
At the age of 65, Yuan experienced an adversarial family situation when his daughter pursued legal action against him. He believed it was a “family” issue rather than one for courts to settle and responded by staging a hunger strike in prison. Fortunately, due to the intervention from police officers plus support from his ex-wife – followed by reconciliation demonstrated through their daughter’s letter of understanding – he eventually complied with authorities and adjusted adequately to life behind bars.
The heartbreaking tale of Yuan and his daughter serves as a grave reminder of the destruction caused by gambling addiction, particularly its devastating effects on young children. This incident forces us to confront difficult moral questions surrounding accountability in cases where criminal behaviour is perpetuated due to an uncontrollable compulsion or disorder.
The dark tale of the kidnapper grandfather made headlines across China, causing a outraged public outcry and spurring over three million views on Weibo. This serves as an important reminder that extortion and violence cannot be tolerated or brushed off as “family matters” but must instead be fully addressed through Justice. To ensure this doesn’t happen again in future cases, we must commit to further examination into such crimes at all times regardless of when they occur or where they take place.