On March 18, 2026, in Shenzhen, a consumer rights blogger who was helping consumers recover their booking deposit for a Ferrari was assaulted by staff members of a car dealership. Although the attacker was administratively detained and the deposit was refunded, the victim questioned the leniency of the punishment.
According to reports from several mainland Chinese media outlets, on January 8 of this year, Mr. Guo from Guangdong, using the online alias “Great Bull Supercar,” purchased a Ferrari sports car from Shenzhen Lu Ba Da Car Business Co., Ltd. and paid a deposit of 100,000 yuan as requested by the seller.
Chat records show that the seller promised “100,000 deposit for the 23-year-old Portofino M Edition, final price of 2.18 million + 2% service fee,” and repeatedly stated “I will definitely get it done for you,” “I will take care of it for you,” “Our car sources nationwide are the best,” and so on.
However, after the deposit was paid, Mr. Guo visited Shenzhen and Wuhan with “Great Bull Supercar” but could not find the corresponding car models. He suspected he was deceived by false advertising and requested a refund multiple times to no avail. Subsequently, Mr. Guo sought help from anti-counterfeiting blogger “Iron.”
On March 10, the blogger “Iron” went to Shenzhen to assist in negotiating the refund. On that day, “Great Bull Supercar” did not show up, only a staff member verbally promised the refund at the police station and asked for the deletion of related rights protection videos. However, after the videos were deleted, the seller did not fulfill the refund promise but instead pushed and insulted “Iron.”
The following day (March 11), “Iron” went to Yuan Wang Ming Car Plaza in Shenzhen to continue advocating for consumer rights when he was attacked by the staff member, Liao, who had previously promised the refund in retaliation.
Video footage from the scene shows Liao shouting at “Iron” with a horn from a close distance, then shoving him multiple times, and repeatedly striking “Iron” and accompanying cameramen on the head with the horn and a helmet. Despite both of them wearing helmets, their helmets were taken off by Liao for further blows, with “Iron” also being kicked multiple times, and the camera equipment being damaged.
Following the incident, “Iron” reported to the police and underwent a medical appraisal. The Guangdong Judicial Appraisal Center issued an opinion stating that the injuries were minor.
Subsequently, the assailant was sentenced to 10 days of administrative detention and fined 500 yuan. The 100,000 yuan deposit previously paid by Mr. Guo was also fully refunded.
However, “Iron” later publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the case, believing that the punishment was insufficient, and has decided to apply for an administrative review.