Recently, in the Kowloon district of Chongqing, China, a strange phenomenon of throwing a large amount of hundred yuan bills from high altitudes in a residential area has caught the attention and sparked discussions online. The police later announced that the incident was caused by a suspect throwing stolen money.
On the afternoon of March 26th, in a residential area in the Erlang Street, Kowloon district of Chongqing, someone from a high-rise building threw a large amount of hundred yuan bills out of the window, described as resembling rain. The property management informed the media that tens of thousands of yuan bills were scattered on the scene.
Videos and images circulated online by netizens showed the flower beds and lawns of the residential area covered with hundred yuan bills. Residents were seen using plastic buckets to collect the money, with some buckets filled more than halfway and leftover bills scattered on the ground. Some residents even mistook it for a show of wealth by a wealthy individual.
Soon after, the Chongqing Public Security Bureau Kowloon district branch issued a statement confirming that the incident of “money raining down in a residential area” was caused by a suspect throwing stolen money in a haste during a police operation.
The announcement stated that the police conducted a capture operation in a rented apartment on the 33rd floor of a residential building in the Erlang Street, Kowloon district, targeting suspects named Zeng (male, 33 years old) and Yu (male, 32 years old) involved in fraud. With the cooperation of the community residents and property personnel, all the cash scattered on the scene was successfully recovered. The case is currently under further investigation.
The property management of the residential area mentioned that the recovered money was handed over to the police. However, there are still doubts online regarding the police claim of a full recovery, with discussions on whether spending the money would constitute a crime. A lawyer near the scene of the incident stated that hoarding the money privately could potentially be considered theft.
According to a report by the “New Beijing News”, the personnel from the Erlang Police Station reminded residents that keeping money picked up from others’ scattering without returning it is considered illegal behavior.
Some netizens revealed that the incident occurred in their own residential area called “V Times”, with some admitting to secretly keeping a few bills. Public information indicates that “V Times” or “V Times Apartments/Community” is located in the Erlang area of Kowloon district, near the Erlang Interchange, which is part of the western technology and industrial zone of the main urban area of Chongqing, with many internet, software, and manufacturing company parks nearby.